The Russian-Ukrainian border is now completely under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the State Border Service, including previously problematic areas in the Luhansk Oblast, the Deputy Secretary of the National Security Council, Mykhaylo Koval, said in an interview with TV channel 5, Monday evening, July 7, reports Ukrainska Pravda.
“Immediately after the termination of the armistice and the transition to the active phase (of the antiterrorists operation) … the entire border was closed off from possible movement of heavy weapons to Ukrainian territory. Even in the Luhansk Oblast, the entire border is now controlled by the Armed Forces and the border guards,” he said.
Additionally, Koval stated that Ukraine’s airspace has not been violated since July 4, when two Russian helicopters crossed the Ukrainian airspace border. At that time the Russian side was issued a warning about Ukraine’s readiness to attack any aircraft that illegally enters Ukraine’s airspace. “There were no more incidents after the warning,” he said.
Koval emphasized that the State Border Control Service has sufficient capabilities to protect the state border and added that Ukraine’s maritime border is also secure.
“An entire platoon of maritime security, which has all the necessary ships and boats to carry out tasks, is stationed on the Azov Sea and is performing its duty day and night,” Koval said.
As for the sea attack on the technical surveillance border checkpoint in the town of Sedovo in the Novoazovsk district of the Donetsk Oblast, Koval said that the marine border guards had all the necessary means to repel the attack but failed to respond effectively. (On July 5, terrorists arriving on boats fired on the surveillance border checkpoint on the coast of the Azov Sea. One border guard was killed and 8 were wounded. — Ed.).
He explained that during the attack the border checkpoint was destroyed but has now resumed work.
Koval also spoke about the status of Russian troops across the Russian-Ukrainian border.
“In fact, (Russian) battalion task forces responsible for sealing the state border are at our border. They have moved to protecting their area of the border with Ukraine and preventing all these groups (illegal armed groups currently targeted by the antiterrorist operation) from crossing into Russian territory,” he said. “They (the battalion tactical groups of the Russian army) have all the elements of a strike force and if necessary can be created in no time,” he said.
As has been reported, on Friday, July 4, the head of the Security Service of Ukraine Valentyn Nalyvaychenko announced that a mutual ceasefire would be possible only after Ukrainian security forces achieve complete control of the Ukrainian-Russian border.
He also said that “more than 450 km of the border with the Russian Federation in the region of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts through which terrorists receive weapons, smuggle mercenaries and armored vehicles not only continues to remain open on the Russian side but also was open during and after the ceasefire.
Translation: Anna Mostovych
Source: Ukrainska Pravda
