The wall on the Kharkiv stretch of the Ukrainian border with Russia will be completed this year
The engineering and technical development of the state border with Russia in the Kharkiv region as part of the European Wall project should be completed in 2017, as stated by the Minister of Internal Affairs, Arsen Avakov.
"This year the task is set and the border guards are ready to completely cover the entire Kharkiv border stretch as part of the European Wall project. This year it’s the Kharkiv region, followed by Luhansk and Sumy. These are our plans and we will insist on full financing," Avakov said at a briefing.
"The ministry will fully ensure the use of funds so that there are no abuses," the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksandr Turchynov, added.
Avakov clarified that a total of 500 million hrynia (19.2 million USD) will be allocated to equip the border in the Kharkiv region.
"For this purpose we will use about 200 million UAH (7.7 million USD) in allocated funds for this year. Additionally, the process of budget adjustments, which was approved by the Parliament earlier, provides for an additional 300 million hryvnia (11.5 million USD). This will allow us to equip the entire Kharkiv border area with surveillance towers, seismic cables, and engineering equipment along the border so that not a meter is left without the control of border guards. This system will allow us to reliably protect the borders of the European Union, with which we now have a visa-free regime, and will ensure the proper functioning of the European Wall," Avakov said.