Overview
- Russia’s lower house passed the measure that now awaits President Vladimir Putin’s signature under a 14‑day window before it can become law.
- The bill authorizes troop deployments to “protect” Russian citizens who face arrest, investigation, trial, or alleged abuse by foreign states or international courts outside Russia’s membership.
- State Duma chair Vyacheslav Volodin said Western justice has become a “repressive machine,” and Defense Committee head Andrey Kartapolov cast the bill as a response to what he called rampant russophobia.
- European defense officials have warned that the Kremlin may test NATO’s resolve in the next year or two, and they view this legislation as formalizing a ready rationale for cross‑border force.
- The bill echoes the Kremlin’s 2022 claim of protecting Russian‑speaking Ukrainians, and Ukrainian reporting notes Europe has boosted defenses after Russian strikes sent weapons into NATO territory.