Russian leader Vladimir Putin has signed a law stipulating that Russia will be able to use the army to “protect Russian citizens who are arrested or prosecuted” abroad under decisions of foreign courts. This refers, for example, to the judgement of the International Criminal Court, which issued an arrest warrant for Putin in 2023.
The document stipulates that the army can be used outside Russia on the decision of the Russian president. What exactly the use of Russia’s armed forces to protect those arrested abroad may consist of, the document does not specify.
Commenting on the document, Vyacheslav Volodin, chairman of the Russian State Duma, said earlier that “Western justice has actually become an instrument of repression,” and “in these conditions, it is important to do everything to ensure that our citizens are protected.”
Before the aforementioned law was passed, Russian legislation stipulated that the president required authorisation from the Federation Council to use the Armed Forces abroad. Before the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, this chamber granted such authorisation.
Several cases of Russian citizens being detained and convicted abroad have caused great resonance – the arrest of arms dealer Viktor Bout at the request of the United States or the detention and subsequent conviction in Germany of Vadim Krasikov, accused of killing former Chechen field commander Zelimkhan Khangoshvili in Berlin, are well-known cases. The case of archaeologist Alexander Butyagin, arrested in Poland at Ukraine’s request, has recently attracted particular attention. He eventually became one of the participants in an exchange involving Russia, Belarus and Western states.
Some commentators voiced concerns because the new draft law expands the possibility of using Russian military outside Russia, which could bring an armed confrontation between Russia and the West closer.