Ukrainian border guards deny Lukashenka's statements about closed border and weapon supplies
Over the past 24 hours, there have been no significant changes in the situation or a reduction in the throughput on the border between Ukraine and Belarus, the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine stated.
Ukrainian border guards noted that their Belarusian colleagues switched to the high alert mode at 8 p.m. on July 2, but it “is common practice during the celebration of various anniversaries. Today, Belarus celebrates Republic Day.”
On July 2, almost 2 thousand citizens were allowed to enter Ukraine from Belarus, and more than 1,700 could go in the opposite direction. These figures are higher than the average in June, which may be due to the weekend. On July 3, there was also quite rhythmic traffic through the checkpoints in the area. There were no signs of border closure at the checkpoints, the State Border Service of Ukraine stressed.
The agency added that Ukrainian border guards detained 27 weapons on the border with Belarus over six months, but there were no firearms. According to the Belarusian data, provided to Kyiv, within 5 months of this year, only 4 guns and 10 ammunition were seized on the border with Ukraine, all at the checkpoints. During the same period last year, there were almost seven times more attempts to smuggle weapons.
“Therefore, all statements by Belarusian politicians about flows of weapons smuggling from Ukraine are groundless,” the Ukrainian ministry stressed.
On July 2, Alyaksandr Lukashenka gave orders to close the border with Ukraine completely.
“A large number of weapons are coming from Ukraine to Belarus. That’s why I instructed the border troops to close the border with Ukraine completely,” he said.
The next day, Anton Bychkouski, a spokesman for the State Border Committee, said that the border guard authorities were using tactical reserves to tighten control over the procedure for visiting and staying citizens in the border zone and strip.
“The registration of persons crossing the border at checkpoints is carried out both for entry and the exit, taking into account the existing restrictions and additional security measures, which consist in the strengthening of control of persons and inspection of vehicles, first of all, after the entry into Belarus,” said Bychkouski.
He noted that the number of border guards on the Ukrainian direction increased both on the green border and at the checkpoints.
belsat.eu
