In Chernivtsi, Transcarpathian and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, a joint border operation “Carpathians-2021” was launched at the initiative of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

In Chernivtsi, Transcarpathian and Ivano-Frankivsk regions, a joint border operation “Carpathians-2021” was launched at the initiative of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

Joint border patrols with National Guard servicemen, police and other agencies have appeared in these regions. It is also possible that joint checkpoints will be set up on certain routes.

These are the elements of the operation that will be observed in the border regions.

The operation itself includes a much wider and longer range of measures, both at the border and in the interior areas of Ukraine. Representatives of various law enforcement, security forces and fiscal bodies of Ukraine are involved in it. Interaction with border guards of neighboring countries will also be carried out. In particular, after a strict quarantine, joint patrols on the Ukrainian-Hungarian border have already resumed (only vaccinated border guards are involved). Work is underway to resume joint patrols with border officials in Slovakia and Romania.

In addition, during the operation, interaction and exchange of information with the European Agency “FRONTEX”, Interpol, Europol will be closely organized.

Before the beginning of Operation Carpathians 2021, a coordination meeting had been held at the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Administration. In addition to border guards, representatives of the state migration, customs, and tax services of Ukraine, the National Police, the National Guard, the Security Service, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine took part in it. During the meeting it was emphasized that on the border with EU countries and in border areas in Chernivtsi, Ivano-Frankivsk and Transcarpathian regions there is an intensification of illegal activities, which was facilitated by weather conditions and the easing of quarantine restrictions in Ukraine and EU countries. And violations detected by border guards and other law enforcement agencies are often planned and organized tens to hundreds of kilometers from the border. A striking example was the recent detention at the airport near Berdychiv of a plane which illegally flew from Ukraine via Moldova to Romanian airspace and back. Violators crossed the state border in the area of responsibility of the Chernivtsi borderguard detachment a few hundred kilometers from the take-off point.

The participants of the meeting agreed to actively exchange information, including operational information, to organize and conduct joint events, and to ensure prompt response to each detected fact of illegal activity.

During the operation, there will be close cooperation between operational, operational-search and analytical units. Rapid Response Units will be used to act on their information. In certain areas, manned and unmanned aerial vehicles, special equipment of the agencies involved in the operation will also be used.

The joint activities of the participants in the operation are aimed not only at detaining the perpetrators on the border, but also at identifying all participants in illegal schemes, including the organizers, as well as identifying places of accumulation of goods, places of stay, employment of illegal migrants, manufacturing facilities for counterfeit products, etc.