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Foreigners Can Now Fight in Russia’s Overseas Military Campaigns

Simonov Nikita / Moskva News Agency

Foreign citizens can now be deployed in Russia’s military operations abroad, according to a new decree signed by President Vladimir Putin on Sunday.

Foreigners have been allowed to enlist in the Russian army and Interior Ministry troops under a January 2015 decree.

Russia's new decree, published on Monday, allows foreign nationals to take part in combat operations outside Russian borders.

The law’s previous iteration was ostensibly aimed at legalizing the status of citizens of former Soviet republics already serving in the Russian military.

The 2015 policy came into force five years after it was proposed to provide legal status to locals serving on Russian bases in Armenia and Tajikistan.

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