The Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine hosted a regular meeting of the Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters for Counteracting a Possible Migration Crisis on the Border with Belarus.

In addition to the staff, representatives of the established regional coordination headquarters also joined the meeting by videoconference.

Participants identified the staff of the regional headquarters and stressed the importance of clear coordinated actions at all levels.

One of the key issues was the discussion of a joint special border operation "Polissia", which began at the border and is conducted by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine together with the National Guard, National Police, Armed Forces, SES and other involved reserves.

During the operation, the Interdepartmental Coordination Headquarters will work out in detail and monitor all possible scenarios of the situation regarding the attempts of illegal migrants to violate the state border of Ukraine.

Volodymyr Nikiforenko also informed his colleagues about the constant cooperation of Ukrainian border guards with border guards of the European Union, who are already feeling the effects of the migration crisis. In particular, he noted the conversation and exchange of information on this issue between the Head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Serhii Deineko and the Commander of the State Border Guard Service of the Republic of Lithuania Rustamas Liubaievas.

In turn, the Parliamentary Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova, who was present at the meeting, noted the monitoring visits of her representatives to verify compliance with the rights of border guards, police and National Guard servicemen, and informed about the results of a meeting with representatives of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Ukraine, International Organization for Migration in Ukraine and human rights NGOs, who agreed on educational measures to respect the rights of law enforcement and provide legal assistance to migrants.

Besides, representatives of ministries and executive bodies discussed the issue of conducting joint tactical and special exercises with the involvement of all forces and means involved in strengthening the state border. Such exercises should simulate the most acute situations that may arise at the border and work out the actions of all forces and means involved.

In addition, the need to develop proposals for legislative changes in case of possible sharp aggravation of the situation at the border was identified, taking into account the experience of EU countries.