Ukraine ready to strengthen protection of border with Belarus after cessation of flights

The Ukrainian State Border Guard Service (SBGS) expects an increase in passenger traffic on Ukraine's border with Belarus due to the cessation of flights to this country, SBGS spokesperson Andriy Demchenko has told Ukrinform.

"A certain increase in passenger traffic on the Ukrainian-Belarusian border is not ruled out due to the cessation of flights," he said.

Demchenko noted that passenger traffic at this section of the border was not critical and has decreased significantly since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, if there is a significant increase, the Ukrainian border agency is ready to increase the number of patrols, he said.

Demchenko said that more than 190,000 people crossed the Ukrainian-Belarusian border over the first four months of 2021.

According to him, passengers traveling to Belarus by air are currently registered at the airports of Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv, Kharkiv, and Zaporizhia. About 6,000 people were registered last week (for entry and exit), and the vast majority of them were foreigners, Demchenko said.

The Cabinet of Ministers decided at an extraordinary meeting on May 25 that Ukraine would stop flights to and from Belarus from 00:00 on May 26.

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