A US Navy veteran turned pro-Russian propagandist is back online despite a DOJ investigation into her publication of leaked Pentagon intelligence files on Ukraine, DailyMail.com has learned.
Divorced Sarah Bils, a 38-year-old New Jersey resident, was exposed in April after falsely posing as a Russian Jew from the occupied Ukrainian city of Luhansk on her podcast “Donbas Devushka.”
Sarah Bils, a New Jersey native and US Navy vet, relaunched her pro-Putin social media project in July, where she and her fellow presenters repeatedly railed against the US.
The former naval technician, who enlisted in 2009, saw her social media channels shut down by tech giants such as Twitter and YouTube shortly after she was exposed by disinformation experts.
A Navy spokesman did not answer questions about the reasons for her departure, but court papers indicate she suffered from a series of health problems before her discharge.
But DailyMail.com can also reveal that Bils relaunched her pro-Putin project in July under the name ‘DD Geopolitics‘ in which she and her fellow hosts repeatedly rail against the country she once served.
She has already amassed more than 200,000 followers on X – formerly known as Twitter – YouTube and the social media messaging platform Telegram, which attracts a wide range of guests.
Bils left the army last year, but after being demoted. No reasons were given for her demotion in the official documents
They include Moscow’s envoy to the UN and Alexander Dugin, a far-right political philosopher described as the Russian president’s foreign policy “brains.”
“Donbass Devuskha did not perform a disappearing act, she just had a fantastic makeover,” Bils wrote earlier this summer.
“Rest assured, the same gang of lunatics are still running the show behind the scenes.”
And in a bizarre rant on September 4, she lashed out at the United States, blaming successive governments for their “continued interference” and provoking the current large-scale invasion of Ukraine.
She repeated the oft-debunked claim that the US government and its allies “manufactured” two revolutions in the war-torn country.
The DOJ opened an investigation into Bils earlier this year when she distributed stolen, classified documents about American arms shipments to Ukraine. The highly confidential papers are said to have been first leaked by Jack Teixeira (photo), a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman
Bils started her pro-Moscow propaganda empire in April 2022, in which the Kremlin talks about the war in Ukraine.
She began her rise to prominence from her home in Oak Harbor, Washington as one of the most aggressively pro-Russian voices in the English language just eight months before she was demoted and fired.
The Navy veteran, who earned several awards and medals before leaving last November, also believes the West staged “a coup” in 2014 to depose its last pro-Moscow leader, Viktor Yanukovych.
Justice Department officials opened an investigation into Bils earlier this year when she distributed stolen, classified documents about U.S. arms shipments to Ukraine.
One of the documents detailed how Ukraine’s supply of missiles was running low and urgent supplies from Kiev’s Western allies were needed.
They were then picked up by several pro-Russian social media channels, raising concerns among U.S. allies about how the papers were able to get online so easily.
The leak also included details of how the US spies on both its friends and enemies, sparking a diplomatic firestorm over concerns it would undermine Ukraine’s fight against Russia.
The highly confidential papers are said to have been first leaked on Discord, a chat platform used by video gamers, by Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman, where they languished for months.
Bils started her pro-Moscow propaganda empire in April 2022, in which the Kremlin talks about the war in Ukraine
One of the leaked documents outlined how Ukraine’s supply of missiles was running low and urgent supplies were needed from Kiev’s Western allies.
He is currently on trial and in June pleaded not guilty to six charges of intentionally retaining and transmitting national defense information.
Bils, an ex-Navy technician with a security clearance, denied her involvement in helping Teixeira.
“I did not post the Pentagon leaks,” she said when contacted by DailyMail.com for comment. ‘Don’t write about me. Leave me and my family alone.’
The mother of one claimed she had “transferred” ownership of the operation, which she described as a non-profit.
But since the relaunch, she has repeatedly produced posts that faithfully mimicked the Kremlin’s line, encouraging followers to donate to the Russian military and the Wagner militia.
They are praised by pro-Kremlin military bloggers in Russia, such as the highly influential Wagner-linked Rybar Telegram channel.
Online sleuths were originally able to unmask Bils thanks to yet another unusual side hustle she had.
In addition to her service in the Navy, she also owned a business that sold tropical fish and imported food from Poland.
Bils had appeared on a popular podcast about aquariums in June 2020, which turned out to be her downfall.
Volunteers from open-source intelligence groups were able to match her voice and interior to her now-deleted posts as Donbas Devushka.
A Justice Department spokeswoman declined to comment.