Russia initiates criminal proceedings following information leak about deployment of Chechen special forces to Syria
Criminal proceedings have been initiated against the servicemen Crwho posted the video showing Russian-Chechen special forces departing to Syria, as reported by Rosbalt, citing a source in the Russian military.
According to the source familiar with the situation, the preliminary investigation determined that there was insufficient educational work done among the personnel by the military command. Servicemen reportedly recorded videos of the Chechen units. One of the servicemen who took this video sent it to several friends who posted it on social networks.
“This endangered the life of the servicemen of the special services and disclosed the movement of units of the Russian ministry of Defense,” Rosbalt's source stated.
The source declined to comment on the legal grounds for these criminal proceedings.
Another source from Russia’s Republic of Chechnya stated that five people were arrested as a result of this investigation. Among them is one officer.
Russian media previously reported that special forces from Russia’s Republic of Chechnya were deployed to Syria where they are tasked with protecting Russia’s Khmeimim air base in the province of Latakia.
At the same time the video showing the departure of the special forces units from Chechnya to Syria appeared on social media networks.