The State Border Guard Service is summing up the results of the border guard year.

Smuggling of weapons, ammunition, explosives is a serious challenge for the security of the country, especially in times of war. Among the factors affecting the smuggling of terrorist items are the illegal supply of weapons to the occupied part of the Donbass, the low level of economic development of the border regions and so on. The results of the State Border Service activities, as well as the conclusions of European colleagues, show that in recent years the number of attempts to smuggle weapons and ammunition across the border has decreased. At the same time, this threat remains the same at the border with Russia and the border with the temporarily occupied Crimea.

Since the beginning of April 2019, at the state border of Ukraine, the demarcation line in the area of Joint Forces Operation and at the administrative border with the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, State Border Guard Service officers have identified and seized 800 units of weapons of both firearms and cold weapons, almost 11 thousand ammunition and 35 kg of explosives. It should be noted that a considerable number of detentions occurred due to the well-coordinated work of the operational units and their information. In addition, the border guards of JFO continue to actively counteract possible hostile sabotage, the transfer of weapons and the equipping arms caches of illegal military formations.

About half of the withdrawn ammunition was found by border guards at or near the entry-exit control points of Donbass. These results were largely influenced by the identified arms caches. Only this year four considerable hiding places were revealed in Donetsk. For example, in January in Volnovakha district two grenade launchers were found in the abandoned building and 222 rounds of different calibre. In February, soldiers of Donetsk Detachment found an arms cache with more than 50 rocket-propelled grenades in the demolished building. Another cache with 5 rocket-propelled grenades, more than 2,000 rounds and a mine were found before Easter at a non-residential building in Mariinka. Also recently in Volnovakha district in Donetsk region, law enforcement officers revealed a cache with a grenade launcher near the railway lane shelters with grenade launchers more than 220 rounds of ammunition, as well as 2 smoke grenades near the railway. All this could be used by attackers to commit sabotage on the peaceful territory of Ukraine.

Regarding the state border sections, in the context of counteracting the transportation of weapons the service dog helped to find the arms caches last July in Lviv region at Krakivets border crossing point at the border with Poland. A submachine gun and three guns, their magazine cases were hidden under the upholstery and in the dashboard of a foreigner's car, who also tried to smuggle marijuana. Many dangerous prohibited items were also revealed at the sea border crossing points. For example, in a container with a car that was shipped from the United States, a border guard dog helped to find a rifle, magazine cases and 80 rounds. It should be noted that during 12 months the border guards of Odessa Detachment found 1.5 thousand rounds of ammunition and almost three dozen units of weapons in used cars from the USA (where in most states citizens have the right to own and use weapons for personal protection).

30 of 35 kilograms of explosives seized by Ukrainian border guards during 12 months, - mostly gunpowder - were found at the border with Russia.