The legislation, passed by Russia's State Duma, enables ICC-indicted war criminal Vladimir Putin to deploy military forces abroad to "protect" Russian citizens facing arrest, detention, trial, or other perceived persecution by foreign nations and international courts.

The news comes amid mounting warnings by Western officials that Russia may launch an attack against NATO in the coming years, a scenario seen as increasingly realistic since the all-out invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Russian lawmakers have framed the legislation as part of an effort to "counter the campaign of rampant Russophobia that continues abroad."

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In Feb 2022, Vladimir Putin invaded Ukraine under the euphemism of a "Special Military Operation," an artifice he no longer has to concern himself with, thanks to the Duma. The Israelis euphemistically called their brutal invasion and occupation of Gaza and Lebanon a "limited ground operation."