Russia's lawmakers have passed a law formally authorising the Kremlin to deploy troops abroad to "protect Russian citizens," giving Russian President Vladimir Putin the authority in practice to invade foreign countries.
According to the State Duma documents, the "bill was drafted to protect the rights of Russian citizens in the event of their arrest, detention, criminal or other prosecution pursuant to decisions of foreign courts vested with criminal jurisdiction by other foreign states without Russia’s participation."
Vyacheslav Volodin, chair of the Russian State Duma, said that "Western 'justice' has turned into a repressive machine for dealing with those who disagree with the decisions imposed by European officials."
"In these circumstances, it is important to do everything to ensure that our citizens abroad are protected."
Putin used a false argument of "protecting Russian-speaking population and Russian citizens" for both his invasion of eastern Ukraine and the unilateral annexation of Crimea in 2014, and Moscow’s all-out war against Ukraine in early 2022.
