Sarah Bils: Pro-Russian propagandist identified as NJ Navy vet divorcee who won anti-terrorism medals
WASHINGTON, DC: Sarah Bils, 37, has been identified as the woman behind 'Donbas Devushka' (Donbas Girl) social media accounts, a Russian propaganda page that reportedly spread misinformation about the war in Ukraine. On the page, she alleged that the Ukrainian army was killing people in Luhansk, a city in the Russian-occupied Donbas region.
According to The Times, Bils, a US Navy veteran turned pro-Kremlin propagandist, shared confidential Pentagon files that were allegedly leaked by Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old junior-ranking US National Guard, who is accused of sharing secret papers in an internet chat room. And now, Bils is being investigated by the Department of Justice as part of the probe into how leaked Pentagon documents appeared online, states Daily Mail. A US official said, as per New York Post, “She is actively under federal investigation, but the circumstances of the content of the investigation are unclear at this time.”
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Who is Sarah Bils?
Bils is one of 15 people allegedly behind a pro-Russian series of social media accounts. She has posted under the pseudonyms Mila Medvedev, Luganskforlife, CheburekiVibes, MeatballSubZero, YuGopnik, and GhostofLugansk. She has a significant following on Twitter, Facebook and Telegram. Though her Twitter account has been removed, her YouTube channel remains online. She is a US Navy veteran who served as an aviation electronics technician at Whitby Island in Washington State, reports The Daily Beast.
Sarah Bils won Global War on Terrorism Service medal
"One of the biggest spreaders of pro-Kremlin disinformation and propaganda, who posed online as a Russian Jewish woman from Luhansk, turned out to be a middle-aged divorced woman from New Jersey and a US Navy veteran. She was exposed by members of the North Atlantic Fella Organisation (NAFO), an online community that fights Russian propaganda," states Yahoo!, who further added, "The NAFO team compared photos and other information and found that the ‘girl's’ real name is Sarah Bils, but she had recently officially changed it to a different, more Russian name. Bils is a former US Navy non-commissioned officer, recently released from active duty, born in the United States and living in Oak Harbor, Washington, near the Whidbey Island Naval Air Station where she once served."
As per Daily Mail, she was a highly decorated servicewoman who won 11 medals and decorations during her 13 years of service including the Global War on Terrorism Service medal, given to those who serve directly in anti-terror operations. The records show that she quit the military on November 27, 2022. However, no reason was stated.