In the future, the Russian armed forces will also be able to free Russian citizens imprisoned abroad if, in the opinion of Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin, they have been wrongly convicted.

This is provided for in an amendment to the law, which is now to be adopted with priority in the State Duma, as parliamentary leader Vyacheslav Volodin said. The aim is to “strengthen the protection of the rights of our citizens against the actions of unfriendly states”, said Volodin. The adoption of the amendment to the law, which has already been approved by the government, is considered a formality.

The legal system in the West has discredited itself once and for all, explained Volodin, who is a close confidant of Putin. The Kremlin leader himself is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague on charges of war crimes in Ukraine. If Putin or other citizens of the country are wrongly convicted and imprisoned in the opinion of the Moscow power apparatus, it should be possible in future to deploy the army to free them.

Moscow’s military doctrine already allows the armed forces to be deployed to protect its own citizens abroad – such as during the war of aggression against Ukraine ordered by Putin in 2022, where many residents in the east of the country were given Russian passports. Now the “protection” is also to apply to those who are arrested, detained or otherwise persecuted on the basis of decisions by foreign courts or international judicial authorities without Russia’s involvement.

In the confrontation with the West, Putin also signed a law according to which rulings by foreign courts will not be recognized or implemented if they contradict Russia’s interests. For example, following its rift with the Council of Europe, Russia no longer abides by the rulings of the European Court of Human Rights. Russia also does not recognize the Criminal Court in The Hague as a legal authority.

© 2026 Blue News