Russian lawmakers on March 4 passed a law that includes a jail term of up to 15 years for anyone convicted of spreading false information about the country’s military. No lawmakers in either parliamentary chamber opposed the bill. Vyacheslav Volodin, speaker of the Russian Duma, the country’s lower house of parliament, said it was necessary to “protect the armed forces” as companies, including U.S.-based ones, “are used as a weapon” by those “in the media space.” The law amends Russia’s criminal code to make the spread of allegedly false information an offense punishable with fines or jail terms. Lawmakers also imposed fines of up to $5,000 and a prison sentence of up to three years for public calls for sanctions against Russia. The law was later approved by the parliament’s upper house. “Huge propagandist-technological forces are against us. Therefore, we need laws. They are severe, but the time requires it. Security …