President Vladimir Putin ordered on Thursday that the deaths of Russian soldiers during special operations in peacetime should be classified as a state secret, a move that comes as Moscow stands accused of sending troops to fight in eastern Ukraine.
Putin, who has repeatedly denied any involvement of Russian troops in a pro-Russian separatist rebellion there, amended a decree that had previously classified only deaths during war time as secret.
Asked to explain the rationale behind Putin's move, his spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, denied any link to Ukraine. "The improvement of the state secret law is underway," he said in a conference call.