Vladimir Putin calls on the Secret Service to hunt down “traitors”.

After his re-election, Russian President Vladimir Putin called in a speech in Moscow to the FSB, the domestic intelligence service, to hunt down “traitors”. They should all be identified by name and punished, Putin said in a noticeably angry tone on Tuesday. No one should feel safe – anywhere: “Wherever they are, we will punish them without limits.”

Russia will never forget these traitors who committed crimes against the country. There are always deaths abroad, in which Russians are killed or die under circumstances that are not entirely clear.

Putin specifically made his comments about attacks from the Ukrainian side in the Russian border region of Belgorod, where civilians have recently been killed again. Especially during the presidential election days from Friday to Sunday, massive shelling took place there. Putin spoke of terrorism aimed at disrupting the vote.

According to him, “subversive and terrorist groups” include not only regular soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, but also mercenaries and other “riffraff”. By the latter, Putin is probably referring to Russian citizens who, for example, were voluntarily taken prisoner in Moscow's war against Ukraine and then switched sides.

The 71-year-old instructed the FSB to intensify its anti-terrorist work alongside other secret services. “We are dealing with a strong, dangerous adversary with vast information, technological and financial capabilities in his arsenal.” Putin also recalled blowing up the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines from Russia to Germany across the Baltic Sea.

The Kremlin leader also addressed the terror alert issued by the US Embassy and other Western diplomatic missions, which recently alerted citizens to attacks in Moscow. Putin spoke of targeted provocations by Western officials “with the aim of threatening and destabilizing society”.

Security options on Russian borders should be strengthened, for example through greater effectiveness of mobile units, Putin said. This refers not only to land routes, but also sea routes, including the Black Sea. The FSB is also responsible for border security in Russia.