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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.
Andrey Kartapolov, head of the State Duma Defence Committee, claimed that the proposed legislation would “counter the campaign of rampant russophobia that continues abroad.”
The new bill adds fuel to European officials’ warnings that Russia poses a direct military threat to its neighbours.
Moscow’s continued missile and drone assaults on Ukraine have already seen Russian weapons breach NATO territory, driving European states to ramp up their defence capabilities in response.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy suggested in April that Russia’s online crackdown and all the restrictive measures banning popular messengers may be a prelude to a mobilisation of conscripts and a new offensive, either against Ukraine or the Baltic countries.
Moscow itself issued numerous threats to the Baltics since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Earlier this week, the Swedish government said it would push forward with a plan to form a new spy agency targeting overseas threats, part of a wider rethink prompted by Russia’s war in Ukraine.