BRYANSK, September 11. /ITAR-TASS/. Works to consolidate border installations are being carried out by the Ukrainian side in the Bryansk sector of the Russia-Ukraine border, an official in the Border Guarding Service Department of the Federal Security Service (FSB) for Bryansk Region told ITAR-TASS. Several border ditches, dug several years ago, have been fortified, in particular.

The Border Service official said measures had been taken on the Ukrainian side to deepen and clear trenhes coming from Ukraine in individual places near the State border. The official pointed out that the activities being conducted in contiguous territory have not affected in any way the situation in the Bryansk sector of the border between Russia and Ukraine. The situation is estimated as calm.

The construction of engineer installations in the form of trenches at the Russia-Ukraine border was started in 2005. At that time, it was officially stated that they were of "anti-smuggling" directedness and were acutely needed in sectors that pose special problems from criminogenic point of view. In Bryansk Region, the "dittches of friendship" as the local resident described the installations were dug along old country roads where border guarding was a problem.

The present step-up of the works to construct "ditches of friendship" may be connected with the start of implementation by Ukraine of the Wall plan to build fortified engineer installations at the border between the two countries.

At the first stage, the plan presupposes the construction of obstacles in Chernigov, Sumy, and Kharkiv Regions and in the north of Luhansk one. This will be a ditch supplemented with observation systems. The overall length of the Bryansk sector of Russia-Ukraine border is 354 km.