Russian lawmakers approve bill allowing Putin to invade foreign countries

Russia's State Duma, the lower house of the country's parliament, approved a bill on May 13 that gives Russian President Vladimir Putin the authority to invade foreign countries.

The law allows the Russian president to order troop deployments abroad to "protect" Russian citizens facing arrest, detention, trial, or other perceived persecution by foreign nations and international courts.

"Western 'justice' has turned into a repressive machine for dealing with those who disagree with the decisions imposed by European officials," said Vyacheslav Volodin, chair of the Russian State Duma.

"In these circumstances, it is important to do everything to ensure that our citizens abroad are protected."

Andrey Kartapolov, head of the State Duma Defense Committee, claimed that the proposed legislation would "counter the campaign of rampant russophobia that continues abroad."

Putin now has 14 days to sign the bill into law.

The hostile legislation feeds additional fuel to European officials' warnings that Russia poses a military threat to its neighbors. Russia's mass attacks against Ukraine have already seen Russian weapons enter NATO territory, and European countries have been scaling up their defense capabilities in response.

The pretext of "protecting Russians" is also a standard line of Kremlin propaganda, and one of the justifications for Russia's illegal invasion of Ukraine — an invasion Putin launched without needing this bill.