Vladimir Putin has admitted the military situation in the illegally annexed parts of Ukraine is “extremely difficult”.

He made the comments on Security Services Day, a widely celebrated holiday, as he the ordered the Federal Security Services (FSB) to step up surveillance of Russian society and the country’s borders to combat the “emergence of new threats” from abroad and traitors at home.

Moscow moved to annex the four regions, which make up some 15 per cent of the country, in September and ordered the FSB to ensure the “safety” of people living there.

See Also:

Turkish media present map of range of new Typhoon missile in latest provocation against Greece

“The situation in the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics, in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions is extremely difficult,” Putin said late on Monday.

Read more: yahoo