USA: Russia is trying to hide the death of its soldiers in Ukraine

The United States claims thatChanging the list of information relating to the state secret in Russia is an attempt to hide its participation in the conflict in eastern Ukraine. This was stated on Thursday by State Department spokesman Jeff Rathke, commenting at the request of journalists on the decree of the Russian President, according to which information that reveals personnel losses not only in war, but also “in peacetime during special operations” is now considered state secrets.

“We regard this as an attempt to hide what everyone knows. The fact that Russian military personnel are participating in hostilities and dying in eastern Ukraine, and the Russian government denies this,” said the American diplomat.

One of the American journalists asked “what does the US administration care about what information is classified by the Russian government,” especially since the United States is also full of classified information on any issue. “Shouldn’t you look in the mirror in this case?” the reporter added.

In response, Rathke, who laughed at the last remark along with journalists, said that the United States also regards the new Russian decree as “a blow to freedom of the press, which is an essential component of civil society.” In this regard, he called on Russia to “respect the principles enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act and other international documents relating to human rights and civil liberties.

In addition, a State Department spokesman argued that the new Russian decree should be assessed “in the context of events in Ukraine.”

Russia's position

Earlier on Thursday, Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov explained that changes to the list of information related to state secrets were dictated by the need to improve the law and the requirements of national interests. “This has nothing to do with Ukraine,” he said, answering questions from journalists.