Russian President Vladimir Putin called for “traitors” to be hunted down in an address to the Federal Security Service (FSB), the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, in Moscow on Tuesday following his re-election as Russian president.
The “traitors” should be identified and punished, Putin said, adopting a noticeably angry tone. “We will punish them without time limitation, wherever they may be.” Russia would not forget these traitors who had committed crimes against the country, he said.
There have been repeated cases of Russians being murdered, some while abroad, or dying under unexplained circumstances.
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Russia-China relations to grow stronger, Putin says, after clinching landslide election win
Russia-China relations to grow stronger, Putin says, after clinching landslide election win
In a speech at the FSB spy service’s annual meeting at the Lubyanka in central Moscow following his landslide victory in Sunday’s election, Putin referred specifically to attacks mounted from Ukraine on the Belgorod region along the border, where there have recently been civilian casualties. Intensive attacks took place in the region during the elections between Friday and Sunday.
Putin referred to terrorism aimed at disrupting the vote. He accused “sabotage and terrorist groups” of acting alongside Ukrainian forces, mercenaries and other “rabble”. The latter could refer to Russian citizens who have gone over to the Ukrainian side.
The Russian president also called on the FSB to join forces with other intelligence services in intensifying counterterrorist work.
“We are dealing with a strong and dangerous adversary, who has a wide range of information, technical and financial resources in his arsenal ,” he said.
Putin recalled the blowing up of the Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines under the Baltic Sea in 2022.
Russia’s Putin addresses Red Square crowd after election win
Russia’s Putin addresses Red Square crowd after election win
Border security also had to be strengthened, for example through greater effectiveness by mobile units, Putin said. He referred to land and sea borders, among them the Black Sea, where Ukrainian forces have been successful against the Russian navy.
The FSB has responsibility for protecting Russia’s borders, among its other duties.
In an attempt to sink the Russian economy and force Putin to change course, the West imposed on Russia what it casts as the toughest ever sanctions soon after the Kremlin ordered the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Putin, though, says Russia’s wartime economy has thrived despite the sanctions, with the manufacture of artillery shells far exceeding the West’s and the Russian economy growing 3.6 per cent last year.
Putin told the FSB “to provide support to our companies that are actively developing despite the obstacles created for them and which are exploring new markets but are faced with openly hostile actions” from the West.
“Yes, they create temporary problems for us,” Putin said, adding that he had spoken to the government about how sanctions had affected some large projects. “But everything, of course, will be done anyway.”
Russia’s Putin addresses Red Square crowd after election win
Russia’s Putin addresses Red Square crowd after election win
The KGB, one of the most powerful institutions of the former Soviet Union with influence stretching far beyond the USSR’s borders and far beyond simply spying and security, lost much of its power and influence when the Union fell in 1991.
But just eight years later, the KGB, by then the FSB, had one of its own – Putin – as master of the Kremlin.
Putin casts the Ukraine war as part of a centuries-old battle with a decadent West which he says humiliated Russia after the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 by encroaching on what the Kremlin boss considers to be his country’s sphere of influence.
As a KGB spy in East Germany, Putin witnessed the Soviet Union crumbling. He told FSB officers that the West was a dangerous enemy that was using an array of weapons to sow discord in Russia including propaganda, technology and finance.
He said the West was trying in Russia to stoke “smuta”, a dreaded Russian word which means unrest, turmoil or trouble and is associated with the “time of troubles” which preceded the rise of the Romanov dynasty in 1613.
China-Russia ties set to deepen with another presidential term for Putin
China-Russia ties set to deepen with another presidential term for Putin
Putin said the FSB should therefore use Russian achievements in quantum technology and artificial intelligence to counter the West, “seriously” strengthen its anti-terrorism activities and said counter-intelligence should be more vigilant.
“The challenges we face and attempts to undermine our development require us to work systematically and consistently in all areas. In the economy, technology, culture, in the social sphere, in strengthening our state and public institutions,” he said.
After Ukraine tried to use Russian proxies to pierce Russian borders, Putin said such traitors should be hunted down.
“We will punish them without limitation wherever they are.”
Additional reporting by Reuters
