President Vladimir Putin on Monday ordered the strengthening of Russia’s borders and instructed special services to strengthen control over society and ensure the safety of people in regions of Ukraine that Moscow considers its own, news agencies reported, Reuters reports.

“The work of border guards and the Federal Security Service (FSB) needs to be strengthened,” Russian state news agency RIA quoted Putin as saying.

“And this (border) must be reliably covered. Any attempt to violate it must be stopped quickly and effectively, using all the forces and means at our disposal, including mobile units and special forces.”

Speaking on the Day of the Special Services, which is widely celebrated in Russia, Putin instructed the special services to strengthen control over society and to maximally “use operational, technical and personnel potential” to prevent risks from abroad and domestic traitors.

“Maximum calm, concentration of forces on the part of counter-intelligence, including military intelligence, is needed now,” Putin was quoted as saying by the TASS state agency.

“It is necessary to severely curtail the actions of foreign special services, to promptly identify traitors, spies and saboteurs.”

He also said that the task of special services is to ensure the safety of people living in regions of Ukraine that Moscow in September called Russian, and which Kyiv and its Western allies called an illegal annexation.

“Your duty is to do everything necessary to ensure their safety as much as possible, respect for their rights and freedoms,” Putin said, promising them more “modern equipment and weapons.”

Read also:

The first reaction of the EU after Putin signed the annexation of four regions of Ukraine