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Refugee crisis in Europe

Ukrainian forces could reach Belarusian border in half an hour if needed — minister

According to Denis Monastyrsky, units of the Ministry’s system are being trained in the Volyn province as part of the Polesie special border operation

KIEV, November 30. /TASS/. Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky said that his ministry's units would need just half an hour to arrive at the border with Belarus in case of migrants tried to breach it.

"If migrants cross the border, all available forces and means of the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs will be at the border with the Republic of Belarus within half an hour after receiving the information," the ministry’s press service quotes the minister as saying on Tuesday.

According to Monastyrsky, units of the Ministry’s system are being trained in the Volyn province as part of the Polesie special border operation. "Generally, such exercises are held in five provinces bordering with Belarus. During training, we are sure that the Interior Ministry units can ensure the internal security of Ukraine," Monastyrsky said. He acknowledged that several weeks ago there was "quite a different picture" on the border.

The migration crisis on Belarus’ borders with Latvia, Lithuania and Poland, where migrants began to flock to since the beginning of this year, went into high gear on November 8. Several thousand people approached the Polish border on the Belarusian side and tried to cross into Poland. In an attempt to storm the border, they broke a barbed wire fence. EU member-states have blamed Minsk for the intentional escalation of the crisis. Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said that in this situation the responsibility rested squarely on Western countries, whose policies had forced people to flee from war.

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Military operation in Ukraine

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