Foreign special services intensified their activities against Russia and its allies, and directly support extremists and terrorists to destabilize the regions near Russian borders. This was on Wednesday, June 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin said at the headquarters of the SVR, where the head of state came to congratulate the officers of the department on the 95th anniversary of illegal intelligence.

"In general, the growing activity of foreign special services is directed against Russia and our allies," the press service quoted the Russian leader as saying.. "New methods of collecting and injecting information, cyberattacks, attempts to recruit agents are being used to gain access to data on the defense, economic, resource potential of Russia," Putin said..

According to him, at present the country is faced with a number of challenges: "these are attempts to contain our development, impose confrontation, destabilize the regions near Russian borders," and "terrorist and extremist groups are used as an instrument".

"It's no secret that some of them are carefully guarded, and even receive direct support from the special services of a number of states," the president said..

Western special services, he said, carry out operations whose purpose is to influence the domestic political and social processes in Russia. However, one of the most important guarantees of the sovereignty of our country, Putin stressed, is the effective work of the Foreign Intelligence Service.

"We will continue to strengthen, build up the intelligence potential, its technical, operational capabilities, rely on experienced professionals, train young cadres," promised the head of state.

Earlier, on June 24, in an interview with the program "News on Saturday," Putin said that "only the elite" serve in illegal intelligence, because these employees for the sake of the Fatherland have to leave their homeland for a long time, leave relatives and relatives, which can not everyone. These people are "special, special quality, special beliefs, they are people of a special character," he said..

Recall, the head of state himself worked in the foreign intelligence agencies of the USSR, the greater period of which - from 1985 to 1990 - fell to the service in the GDR.