Putin congratulates National Guard on 6th anniv

Russian President Vladimir Putin congratulated Russia's National Guard on the sixth anniversary since its creation on Sunday. Putin specially addressed the service staff of the National Guard units involved in the "special military operation in Donbas and Ukraine."

"I am well aware of how you act in this situation: highly courageously and professionally, skilfully and fearlessly, you resolve the most complicated tasks set before you competently and precisely while showing personal heroism," Putin said in his video statement.

The National Guard was established by Putin in 2016 as an internal military force that reports directly to the president. The service, which numbers over 300,000 personnel, is involved with other security forces in fighting terrorism and organised crime, guarding state facilities, controlling weapons turnover and riot control.