09:26 11.11.2021

Ukraine intends to double border guards on border with Belarus – Monastyrsky

2 min read
Ukraine intends to double border guards on border with Belarus – Monastyrsky

Ukraine intends to double the number of border guards at the state border due to the threat of illegal migrants from Belarus entering the country, Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Denys Monastyrsky has said.

"I can say that with regard to border guards, their number will double at the state border. There will also be quite serious reserves of the National Guard and the National Police. There will be people who will be near the border, since we are talking about their deployment there [...]. Mobile groups, move along the border to detect illegal border crossings," Monastyrsky said at a briefing in Kyiv on Wednesday.

However, he said that "the response and reaction of Ukrainian law enforcement officers and guards will be quite tough, clear, correct" within the law that regulates the protection of the state border.

First Deputy Interior Minister Yevhen Enin told the Ukraine 24 television channel on Wednesday that all five of the ministry's departments will be involved in providing border security to avert a potential migrant crisis.

"Our border security will be provided by some 8,500 troops. These are mainly the State Border Service, the National Guard, and the National Police," Enin said.

"National police in four regions bordering Belarus are already on high alert and actively communicating with the locals, warning them about possible infiltration by certain groups of illegal migrants, while also asking them to inform law enforcement authorities of any possible sightings of unfamiliar faces in the border areas," he said.

On Thursday, officers of law enforcement will check the technical engineering measures that have been put in place to reinforce areas where breakthroughs are likely to occur, Enin said.

"Also, we are receiving regular updates from our secret services, so as to carry out necessary maneuvers of forces and resources to render impossible the attempts we have seen on the part of Belarusians," he said.

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