TOP HEADLINES

· President Vladimir Putin has ordered security services to step up surveillance to secure its borders and combat new threats. He also admitted the situation in four areas of Ukraine that Moscow had declared part of Russia was "extremely difficult."

· The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is estimating Ukraine will need between $40 bln and $57 bln in external financing for 2023.

· The IMF has revealed its approval for a four-month program for Ukraine aimed at maintaining economic stability because of the conflict with Russia and helping promote donor financing.

· Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged Georgia to allow its jailed former president to go abroad for treatment to safeguard his health.

· The U.S. accused UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of "apparently yielding to Russian threats" and not sending officials to Ukraine to inspect drones used by Russia that Washington and others say were supplied by Iran.

· Vladimir Putin's statement saying Moscow does not want to absorb anyone should be treated as the "height of irony" given that he is currently seeking to absorb Ukraine, said a U.S. State Department spokesperson. 

· Putin said on Monday that his country had "no interest" in absorbing Belarus, Moscow's main ally that heavily depends on it for cheap oil and loans.  

· United Nations (UN) chief Antonio Guterres said he was pessimistic that Russia's conflict in Ukraine would end soon but he hoped it would be over by the end of next year.

· Canada's government has announced the start of a process to seize US$26 million in assets from a company owned by sanctioned Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich.

IN DETAIL

President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Federal Security Services to step up surveillance of Russian society and the country's borders to prevent risks from abroad and traitors at home.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday's Security Services Day - widely celebrated in Russia - Putin said the "emergence of new threats" increases the need for greater intelligence activity.

"Work must be intensified through the border services and the Federal Security Service (FSB)," Putin said.

"Any attempts to violate it (the border) must be thwarted quickly and effectively using whatever forces and means we have at our disposal, including mobile action units and special forces."

Putin instructed the FSB to maximize their "use of the operational, technical and personnel potential" to tighten control of the society.

The FSB, the main successor to the Soviet-era KGB, has already been operating in Russia as an expansive surveillance and censorship apparatus and Moscow's conflict in Ukraine has involved a large swathe of the security services.

"Maximum composure, concentration of forces is now required from counterintelligence agencies, including military intelligence," Putin added. "It is necessary to severely suppress the actions of foreign special services, quickly identify traitors, spies and saboteurs."

The FSB, headed by Putin ally Alexander Bortnikov, will also increase oversight of mass gatherings, strategic facilities and energy infrastructure.

In a rare admission that the operations in Ukraine were not going smoothly, Putin said that the situation in Ukraine's regions that Moscow moved to annex in September is "extremely difficult" and ordered the FSB to ensure the "safety" of people living there.