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Kiev ready to engage army in case of hybrid attack of migrants from Belarusian territory

Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov noted that "a serious threat" existed on the border

KIEV, December 3. /TASS/. The Ukrainian armed forces are ready to get involved if the threat level of a migrant attack from Belarusian territory increases, Ukrainian Defense Minister Alexei Reznikov said at the Verkhovna Rada on Friday.

"We recognize these risks and are getting ready. With the coordination of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC), an algorithm of interaction between all power structures has already been worked out in case of a possible hybrid attack by migrants from the territory of Belarus. The army will be ready to do its share of work if the threat level increases," the defense minister said.

The defense minister did not explain what he meant by any possible "hybrid attack" by migrants, simply noting that "a serious threat" exists on the Belarusian border. "Due to the de facto Anschluss in Belarus (the minister uses this term to denote the Union State of Russia and Belarus - TASS), we have over one thousand additional kilometers of the border that need to be protected, especially during the winter period," he noted.

Earlier, Ukrainian Interior Minister Denis Monastyrsky said that Ukraine intended to build modern engineering constructions on the border with Russia and Belarus. "Works on the engineering infrastructure development of the modern border are being estimated and will cost about 17 bln hryvnias (approximately $630 mln) on the sections of the border with the Republic of Belarus and with the Russian Federation," he said.

According to the interior minister, the state budget for the next year should include funds for the infrastructure development of the border at two of the most vulnerable sections. "In terms of the total span with Russia, it’s 1,505 km, including 409 km of the occupied border, and 1,084 km with Belarus," he noted. According to him, it is necessary to dig an anti-transport trench four meters wide and two meters deep on the border with Russia and Belarus "in order to complicate a breakthrough of the mechanized units of the enemy’s army."