The State Border Service of Ukraine has attracted over 300 servicemen from October 18 to strengthen the protection of the state border with the countries of the European Union within Volyn, Lviv, Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi regions, as part of the active phase of Operation Border 2017, the service's press office reported on October 19.

In order to increase the number of personnel in these regions the service attracted reserves from the Bohdan Khmelnytsky National Academy of the State Border Service, the Dozor mobile border detachment and a rapid-response border commandant's office.

The press service reported that servicemen had already arrived to strengthen the protection of the border section within Chernivtsi and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, where "they will block the most threatening areas of the Ukrainian-Romanian and Ukrainian-Moldovan borders."

Rector of the Bohdan Khmelnytsky National Academy of the State Border Service Major-General Oleh Shynkaruk said he was convinced that cadet border guards, staying at the sections of responsibility of state border guard agencies, would skillfully take advantage of the theoretical knowledge and practical skills obtained in the academy would show themselves as a unit capable of performing all tasks assigned to it.

The first deputy head of the Western Regional Department, Colonel Ruslan Krasnoportko, in turn, said that the main goal of strengthening this section of the border was to counteract organized crime.

"Unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with modern photo and video surveillance cameras, as well as thermal imaging equipment, will be used for patrolling," he added.

The State Border Service noted that the agency continued to take active systemic measures to counter illegal activities on the state border and in border-controlled areas, including by holding special operations, in particular Operation Border 2017.

Following the main stage of the joint special operation Border 2017, which began on April 11, 2017, over 250 illegal migrants were detected and detained, and about 700 potential illegal migrants and 1,460 violators of the state border and border regime were not allowed to cross the border. In addition, during the operation the units of the State Border Service seized 231 pieces of weapons and 1,180 pieces of ammunition. They also found about 133 kg of narcotic drugs, almost 1.3 million packs of cigarettes, about 60,000 liters of alcohol and 162 kg of amber.