KIEV, September 26. /ITAR-TASS/. Kiev has suspended operations of 16 out of 65 border checkpoints on the border with Russia, the Ukrainian government’s press service said on Friday.
“To ensure public security, the government will be suspending a flow of individuals crossing the state border between Ukraine and Russia through 16 out of 65 border checkpoints,” it said.
Kiev pledges to finish the first stage of engineer construction work within the Wall project on the border with Russia by September 30, the government said.
Building a wall on Russia-Ukraine border
On September 3 Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that Ukraine was beginning to build ‘a real frontier’ with Russia that borders on Ukraine at a distance of 2,295 kilometres.
The Ukrainian government has already disbursed 100 million hryvnias ($7.7 million) for the implementation of the Wall project.
On September 17, the cabinet approved a plan of steps for building defense facilities on the border both with Russia and Crimea and suspended a flow of traffic and pedestrians through 16 out of 65 border checkpoints. The plan reflected the decision adopted by the National Security and Defense Council of August 28.
On Wednesday, Ukraine’s President Petro Poroshenko signed a decree on urgent measures for protecting Ukraine and bolstering its defense. In particular, the decree enacts to find a decision on suspension of operations at border checking points on the border with Russia for automobile, marine, pedestrian movements.
Poroshenko also instructed the government to take steps aimed at a unilateral demarcation of Ukraine’s state border with Russia and at providing its proper outfitting.
At the same time, the executive agencies should submit proposals about implementation of special economic and other restrictive measures against the Russian Federation.