Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law allowing the deployment of troops to foreign countries to support Russian citizens detained or facing prosecution.
Interfax on May 25 quoted the law as emphasizing that this decision could be used to protect Russians arrested or facing prosecution in foreign courts without Russian intervention.
The Russian military can also be used in cases where Russians are detained under the orders of international judicial bodies that Russia does not recognize its authority.
It is not yet clear in what cases the Kremlin will cite this law. Deploying troops to a foreign country to free an individual from prison would risk causing military conflict with that country.
The Russian Parliament passed this law in the context of Western governments stepping up efforts to restrain the "dark fleet" transporting Russian oil.
Authorities of some European countries have tightened inspections of ships suspected of belonging to the "dark fleet" in an effort to impose sanctions on Russia after the conflict broke out in Ukraine.
In March this year, Russian presidential aide Nikolai Patrushev shared with Kommersant newspaper that Russia plans to provide naval trains to protect commercial ships to protect Russian ships.
