Hundreds of foreign spies were unmasked in 2018, says Putin.

247, with AFP - Russian special services unmasked hundreds of spies working for foreign countries active in Russia last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday (6).

"Thanks to successful special operations, the activities of 129 officers and 465 agents of foreign special services were disrupted" in 2018, Putin said in a speech to officers of the Russian security service (FSB, former KGB).

"Foreign intelligence services aspire to strengthen their activity on Russian territory and seek to obtain information related to politics, economics, science, and technology by all means," the president explained.

Putin also criticized the intensity of foreign spying activities.

Former FSB chief Putin urged these services to work "effectively" in the face of this challenge, including protecting "data on the development, testing and production of Russian weapons systems."

"The control here must be as rigorous and meticulous as possible," he said.

The statements come at a time when Washington has suspended its participation in the INF Treaty, which prohibits surface-to-surface missiles with a range of 500 to 5,5 kilometers, accusing Russia of violating the provisions of the document signed in 1987.

In response, Moscow did the same and gave itself two years to develop new land-based missiles.

In late February, during his annual speech to Parliament, Vladimir Putin detailed the progress of programs aimed at creating new Russian weapons, which he considers "invincible." The technical characteristics of most are classified as secret.