The first 12 migration control points have been launched at major airports across Russia to monitor compliance with immigration laws, according to a statement from Interior Ministry spokesperson Irina Volk.

These checkpoints are designed to identify foreign nationals violating Russia's migration regulations. The new units are now operational at airports in Moscow, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Yekaterinburg, and other major cities.

Volk noted that the initiative is being implemented under the coordination of the Migration Service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Main Directorate for Transport. Similar control points will soon be set up at border railway stations as well as at key river and road crossings.

RBC reports that the move follows an April directive by President Vladimir Putin to establish a Citizenship and Foreign Nationals Registration Service under the Ministry of Internal Affairs, based on the existing Main Directorate for Migration Affairs.

The newly formed agency will be headed by Andrei Kikot, former prosecutor of Novgorod Region and former deputy prosecutor general under Igor Krasnov.

Presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated that the creation of this service will enhance the efficiency of managing migration processes, speed up administrative procedures, and improve inter-agency coordination.