KIEV, January 13. /TASS/. Ukrainian security forces conducted drills in the Rovno Region along the border with Belarus, Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) said in a statement on Telegram on Friday.
"The Security Service carried out large-scale counter-sabotage drills in the border areas of the Rovno Region. Defense forces practiced ways to neutralize enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups, which, according to the exercise script, tried to break through the northern border," the statement reads.
According to the SBU, one of the groups attempted to break into a city, while another one took the head and the chief engineer of an energy facility hostage together with their families. "Using psychological pressure and death threats, the perpetrators sought to force the victims to collaborate with them," the SBU said.
The drills involved units from the SBU, the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Police, the State Emergency Service and the National Guard, as well as government and local officials. "Participants in the training comprehensively practiced ways to ensure interagency interaction to prevent potential sabotage threats in the border regions of northwestern Ukraine," the SBU stated.
Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Kingdom Vadim Pristaiko said on Thursday that Kiev was being forced to redeploy some troops from the line of contact in Donbass to the Belarusian border for fear of an attack.
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko pointed out in early October that Ukraine had deployed as many as 15,000 troops to the border area. Chairman of the Belarusian State Border Guard Committee Anatoly Lappo said in mid-November that Ukrainian security forces had blown up "actually all the bridges in the Gomel and Mozyr areas," and "are starting to blow up all the bridges in the Volyn direction." The State Border Committee announced earlier that it had reinforced its border guard units, stepped up the use of technical means of protection and engaged maneuverable territorial border guard squads.