Putin Instructs FSB to Step Up Work Along Russian-Ukrainian Border

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Russian President Vladimir Putin instructed the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) on Tuesday to take special control of the Russian-Ukrainian border.

"The Russian-Ukrainian section of the state border should be under special control of the FSB Border Service," Putin said at an extended meeting of the FSB.

The Russian leader also noted that the authorities should closely monitor critical infrastructure in the country - such as transport hubs, public spaces, defense industry and energy companies, adding that the West has never minded using extremists to its advantage and always used what is at hand against Russia.

"We know that they [Western states] have never minded using both radicals and extremists in their interests, despite all the loud statements about the fight against international terrorism. They always use what is at hand against us, what they can use," Putin stated.

He added that the FSB should stop those who seek to split Russia and pay attention to the new regions of the country - the Donetsk People's Republic, Lugansk People's Republic, Zaporozhye Region, and Kherson Region.