Photo: Fleet Readiness Center Northwest
A former Navy non-commissioned officer is one of the people running pro-Russian social media accounts spreading Russian propaganda about the war between Russia and Ukraine. The accounts claim to be run by a single Russian blogger known as "Donbass Devushka," which translates to "Donbas Girl."
However, Sarah Bils, a 37-year-old former aviation electronics technician who was stationed at the U.S. Naval air station on Whidbey Island, told the Wall Street Journal that she is one of several people who post content on the English-language accounts. Bils was honorably discharged last November. She told the Journal that she left for medical reasons after suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.
Bils is now under investigation in connection with the classified documents that were allegedly leaked by Massachussettes Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira.
Bils admitted that several of the classified documents were posted on the social media accounts, but she denied she was the one who posted them. She said that another administrator shared the documents but that she quickly deleted the posts.
"I don't even know the authenticity of the documents or what they say. I am not very well versed in reading documents like that," she said.
The Navy and Justice Department have not commented on the investigation.