Russian President Vladimir Putin admitted on Tuesday that his country's forces are facing challenging conditions in the four Ukrainian provinces they partially occupy.

RUSSIA-POLITICS-PUTIN

Russian President Vladimir Putin wished security services officers and veterans a happy agency workers day.

SPUTNIK/AFP via Getty Images

In a video address, Putin urged Russia's security and intelligence agencies to improve their work and keep up efforts to prevent terrorist attacks.

In October, Putin referred to the destruction of the bridge as a "terrorist attack".

The Russian leader urged the security agencies to do everything they could to make sure the safety of Russian people living in the occupied Ukrainian territories.

Putin said that it was necessary to end the activities of foreign special services and to identify traitors.

Since the start of the invasion, Putin and his allies have claimed that they are fighting against Western military forces, mercenaries and neo-Nazis.

The New York Times reported that Putin ordered the Federal Security Service to make sure that all public gatherings are under constant control.

PLAY 1/1 Skip Ad Continue watching after the ad Loading PodsVisit Advertiser websiteGO TO PAGE

Russia announced in September that it would hold a referendum in the occupied provinces of Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia, which were derided by the West as shams. Moscow decided to annex the four occupied territories after the referendum. The annexed provinces will become Russian citizens forever according to the Russian president. Luhansk is the only part of Russia that is still under Russian control. The Russian forces have been defeated on the battlefield since the annexation of these provinces by the Ukrainians. Moscow has been using long range weapons on suicide drones to targetUkrainian cities and civilian infrastructure.

Tangent

Russia has failed on the battlefield, but the Kremlin still doesn't want to hear about criticism of the war. A Russian billionaire warned against the destruction of Ukraine earlier this year, questioning if victory in the conflict could even be achieved. Russia has abandoned everything it achieved economically in the years after the fall of the Soviet Union, as a result of western sanctions, according to the country's aluminum magnate, Rusal. The Financial Times reported on Tuesday that a luxury hotel complex owned by the billionaire in Sochi has been seized by a Russian court. According to a report by the Financial Times, the legal dispute surrounding the hotel complex began before the invasion of Ukranian.

The situation in occupied areas is very complicated, according to Putin.

The president of Ukraine visited a combat zone.