Russia Authorizes Military Deployments Abroad to Counter Foreign Prosecutions of Its Citizens
Russia Authorizes Military Deployments Abroad to Counter Foreign Prosecutions of Its Citizens
Russia Authorizes Military Deployments Abroad to Counter Foreign Prosecutions of Its Citizens
Expanding his military authority, a new piece of legislation allows Vladimir Putin to send troops abroad to fight judicial actions by foreign states.
The Russian State Duma unanimously passed legislation significantly expanding Russian leader Vladimir Putin’s authority to deploy the armed forces abroad, The Moscow Times reported on May 13.
Amending existing federal laws on citizenship and defense, the new measure allows Putin to use the military to “protect” Russian nationals facing arrest, detention, or criminal prosecution in foreign countries.
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The legislation specifically targets cases where Russians are detained by foreign courts acting without Moscow’s participation, or by international tribunals that Russia does not recognize, according to an explanatory note accompanying the bill.
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The expansion of Putin’s military powers comes amid a series of warnings from NATO intelligence agencies that the Kremlin is actively preparing for a potential war with European nations. Earlier this year, Danish intelligence assessed that Russia could launch a large-scale European conflict within five years, while the German BND (Federal Intelligence Service) warned of potential Crimea-style provocations in the Baltic states, according to The Moscow Times.
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