Russian Military Personnel Transmitted Classified Data Through Public Telegram Group

Soldiers of the Russian army’s 143rd Rifle Division transmitted secret information through a public Telegram group for a year.

ASTRA, whose journalists discovered the group and published the information found there, reported on this.

According to them, a group called “Бл*дская организация” (ed. “F*king Organization) was used to post daily links to Yandex Telemost conferences for commanders. Secret orders from the headquarters of the 5th Guards Combined Arms Army were also sent there.

Separate lists of Russian servicemen, tables of video surveillance systems, requests for the issuance of ammunition, spreadsheets containing usernames, passwords, and even two-factor authentication (2FA) keys used by unit commanders to access drone livestreams.

Journalists also found documents in the chat containing code designations for rivers, as well as directives on operational camouflage, intelligence activities, and information warfare.

In August 2025, members of the group received an order from the headquarters of the 5th Guards Combined Arms Army, signed by Acting Chief of Staff Colonel Dmitry Litvinov and Colonel Serik Zhunusov, head of the army’s Unmanned Systems Department.

It stated that assault units were suffering losses due to inadequate supplies and the low effectiveness of robotic systems. In a separate directive, the command ordered that automated carts be equipped with Starlink terminals and that their availability be reported regularly.

Among the published materials was an order dated December 7, 2025, calling for the creation of decoy targets in the Vremivka sector, including simulated vehicle movements, field kitchen operations, and personnel activity.

Furthermore, headquarters required photos and videos of these decoy targets to be submitted in a way that would make them appear to be covert recordings made by local residents with pro-Ukrainian views who were allegedly passing information to Ukrainian intelligence services.

The document listed specific units: the 127th Motor Rifle Division, the 394th Motor Rifle Regiment, the 218th Tank Regiment, the 1171st Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment, and the 872nd Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment. It also specified particular areas for the deception activities, including their coordinates.

Journalists discovered another order in the group that outlined intelligence-gathering activities in territories occupied by Russian forces. The document was signed by the army’s chief of intelligence, Colonel A. Umrikhin. The group also contained plans for radio deception operations and documents related to psychological warfare.

The Telegram group remained active for about a year and stopped receiving updates after May 4. In late April, one of the administrators noted that unknown individuals had started gaining access to the chat. According to Russian pro-government commentators, the disclosure of the group’s contents prompted internal inspections within the military.