Putin classifies information on deaths of Russian troops in peacetime

Russian President Vladimir Putin speaks during a meeting of the Lomonosov Moscow State University Supervisory Board at the Kremlin in Moscow, Russia, May 28, 2015. REUTERS/Alexei Druzhinin/RIA Novosti/Kremlin

MOSCOW (Reuters) - President Vladimir Putin ordered on Thursday that 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.