They should pay special attention to new territories and cooperation with BelarusThe Joint headquarters of the branches of the Armed Forces of Russia involved in a special military operation (SVO) was visited by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
He got acquainted with the work of the servicemen, heard a report on the progress of the military training, held a meeting and separate meetings with the commanders. Three days later, the Russian leader gave an assessment of the situation in the new regions of Russia: "The situation in the Donetsk and Lugansk republics, in the Kherson and Zaporozhye regions is extremely difficult."
Further, in a video message dated December 20 on the occasion of the Day of the Security Officer, it is said that the situation in the world is changing, new threats are emerging, hence "increased requirements for the entire system of Russian security agencies."
Thanking the employees of the FSB, SVR, FSO and the Main Directorate of Special Programs for their competence and courage, Putin demanded: "You should seriously strengthen the work in key areas," especially in new territories. "For our part, we will continue to strengthen new units with modern equipment and weapons, as well as experienced personnel," the president promised.
The first among the priorities of the work of all special services remains the fight against terrorism, the prevention of terrorist attacks, and here the work must be carried out "systematically and aggressively."
"Places of mass stay of citizens, strategic facilities, transport and energy infrastructure should be under constant control," Putin stressed. "This task should be solved by the FSB with the coordination of the National Anti–Terrorist Committee in close cooperation with other law enforcement agencies."
Counterintelligence agencies are instructed to "strictly suppress the actions of foreign intelligence services, promptly identify traitors, spies and saboteurs." The border guards were ordered to reliably cover the state border as "the most important, key frontier of ensuring the security of the country," attempts to violate which should be "stopped quickly and effectively using available forces and means, including mobile action units and special forces." The immediate reaction of the special services should follow the attempts of extremists and militant nationalists to incite ethnic hatred, since this is "a direct threat to the internal unity of our society." Among other areas, the need to "act more decisively" to protect information resources, combat economic crimes and counter corruption was noted.
Moscow attaches great importance to relations with Minsk. On December 19, the Presidents of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus Vladimir Putin and Alexander Lukashenko held a joint press conference. Both recognized a decrease in the volume of gross national product in 2022: by 2.9% in the Russian Federation and "more than 3%" in the Republic of Belarus. They intend to achieve positive dynamics, including through the implementation of joint projects in high-tech areas, including manned space flight programs and the creation of new satellite systems.
Repeating the thesis that our countries are the closest allies and strategic partners who are building a Union State together, the presidents turned to the nuclear topic. Next year, the completion of the construction of the second power unit of the Belarusian NPP is promised, and it is reported that the first unit generated 10 billion kWh of electricity in two. Cooperation is not limited only to peaceful atom. Moscow considers it possible to continue training crews of combat aircraft of the Belarusian army, which have already been converted for the possible use of air-based ammunition with a special warhead. Explaining his position, Putin cited the example of the United States, which "has been holding similar events with its allies within the NATO bloc for decades," and argued that retaliatory measures were "extremely important due to the tense situation on the external borders of the Union State."
For his part, Lukashenko called this topic "very sensitive" and reported on conducting appropriate training not only on aircraft of both "Soviet times" and received from Russia in recent years. "We tested them in the Russian Federation, we are now, together with the Russians, preparing crews capable of operating these aircraft carrying specific ammunition." Recognizing that "alone, without Russia" Belarus is not able to defend its independence and sovereignty, Lukashenko once again publicly approved the presence of Russian troops. The allied States consistently implement a common military doctrine and conduct joint military planning. Military coordination of formations and military units of Russian and Belarusian servicemen from the United Regional Group of Troops is being held on the territory of the Republic of Belarus. A unified air defense system has been created and put on combat duty. The parties agreed to continue measures to ensure the security of our countries, giving priority to the training of troops, increasing their combat readiness, continuing the practice of joint exercises, mutual arms supplies and their joint production.
Taking this opportunity, the President of the Republic of Belarus announced the news – the first S-400 anti-aircraft missile system transferred to the Russian Federation has been put on combat duty. The second event is that the Belarusian military received the Iskander complex as part of the implementation of the agreement six months ago. Minsk believes that it is necessary to maintain "the speed of decision-making and implementation," because "time is more important than money now." "This is the essence of our talks today," Lukashenko said.
In his opinion, the situation in the world is changing rapidly, and "the changes in depth and scale, without any exaggeration, are truly fateful... In fact, the future of the Belarusian and Russian peoples is being determined." He accused the West of waging a "proxy war with Russia by the hands of Ukrainians" and its willingness to wage it "to the last Ukrainian."
During the joint press conference, the discussion of the special operation turned to an exchange of views on the World Cup that ended the day before. "Indeed, there was such a drama – they fought until the last second, as they say," Putin said. "We fought very well, but the strongest won." It remains to be seen whether this applies exclusively to the final match of the sports teams of France and Argentina, or in the future it will also fit the description of the armed conflict in Ukraine.
Vladimir Karnozov
