Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/07/23/russian-soldiers-pick-smartphones-over-safety.html
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You can get out of that by agreeing to join the Russian army.
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It’s been a problem for the U.S. military as well.
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There should be some kind of solution that helps soldiers not give away their locations. Besides encrypted radio, which I believe could also send texts.
Of course, I also do understand Russian soldiers wanting lines of communication that their government has less direct control of.
I hope Putin’s Russia doesn’t find a solution until they are no longer invading Ukraine, and ideally until well after Russia actually can have a leader who isn’t terrible.
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According to a draft law supported by the State Duma Committee on Defense, carrying internet-connected cell phones whose data can identify Russian troops or the location of forces will be classified as a “gross disciplinary offense” punishable by up to 10 days of arrest. Multiple offenses could lead to up to 15 days of arrest.
In other news, a single offence can carry a death sentence, administered by the Ukrainian armed forces.
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I dunno, the last Russian made video I saw was of some guy saying he’s the last one of a 300 person unit, and some replacements came but they are all dead, and he wears a balaclava because there are so many blow flies from all of the corpses.
I think a lot of them just don’t give a fuck any more. 
Maybe maybe if more videos like that got out, the Russians would protest the wholesale slaughter of conscripts. They are sending 60 year olds out there. Man, shit is BLEAK. We can’t be certain on the numbers, but one number floating around is 500K (casualties, ~400K deaths), and that’s getting close to all the wars the US has ever fought.
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Russian soldiers are seriously pissed because mobile phones and Telegram channels are essential communication tools for combat operations. The ban on “household” devices could also affect drones such as the DJI Mavic that are made for the consumer market.
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That is west-centric thinking, while western nations have been profligate with men their behaviour has never been equivalent to Russian/Soviet wastage.
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I would be seriously pissed if the person next to me in a trench was texting.
They don’t have to do anything. Just the phone being on is enough to connect to a cell tower. If someone is monitoring the towers, they can see whose phones are connecting, and where they are.
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You’re right. It’s just kinda sad.
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Hmm, am I correct in reading this to mean that if a Russian soldier gets caught giving away their position by using a mobile phone, they will be off the battlefield for 10-15 days…?!
This might backfire (no pun intended).
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These new recruits obviously haven’t been through the traditional Russian training methods to remind you not to carry your phone:
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We used to do that in the US Army once upon a time until such antics were prohibited since they serve only to humiliate and do nothing to correct the behavior.
Giant dog tags, a giant ID card, or an enormous rubber check (for writing bad checks at the PX) were common
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There was a project to introduce an encrypted radio system, but it was undermined by corruption.
Scroll down to tweet no. 35:
Because of the shortage of secure radios, Russian soldiers have resorted to using mobile phones and cheap Chinese radios that can be easily intercepted.
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Encryption is not the issue. Even encrypted signals can be triangulated on, both Ukrainians and Russians have mastered the art of using antennas to listen for the pings from phones, and direct artillery to those positions. It doesn’t even have to be doing more than logging into the next cell tower.
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electronic devices meant for “household purposes” which allow for video and audio recording
You heard the man, no smart fridges in the trenches.
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It’s a radio transmitter, with a unique ID in the visible metadata. They’re fucked by that alone, and it only gets worse if the other side controls the towers it connects to.
Giveaways in the photos and text are just the “Shoot me!” cherry on the turd sundae.
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In the early days of the war, Ukrainian intelligence learned a lot by intercepting calls made by Russian soldiers on Ukrainian mobile networks.
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Yup, first thing the troops would do is pillage Ukrainian phones to call home.
SigInt drones with Stingray boxes would be nasty.
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