Volodymyr Nikiforenko during the Coordination Council of the OSCE Program "The Capacity Strengthening of the State Authorities of Ukraine in Preventing and Combating the Illicit Trafficking of Weapons, Ammunition and Explosives in All Aspects".

This was announced today, January 21, by the First Deputy Head of the SBGS Volodymyr Nikiforenko during the Coordination Council of the OSCE Program "The Capacity Strengthening of the State Authorities of Ukraine in Preventing and Combating the Illicit Trafficking of Weapons, Ammunition and Explosives in All Aspects".

"An important achievement in counteracting the smuggling of terrorism means was the introduction of an international technical assistance project, "Supporting the SBGS in Preventing and Combating the Illicit Trafficking of Weapons, Ammunition and Explosives across the State Border. "

In his welcoming speech, the Head of the OSCE Project Coordinator's Office in Ukraine expressed his gratitude to the SBGS for its initiative in involving assistance in this area.

“The situation at the state border is a kind of indicator of border security. The main factors influencing the smuggling of terrorism are large-scale illegal weapon deliveries to the occupied areas of Donetsk and Lugansk regions and their uncontrolled trafficking, difficult socio-political and criminogenic situation in the eastern and southern regions of Ukraine, high level of criminalization of illicit trafficking development of border regions,” said Volodymyr Nikiforenko.

He pointed out that there is no threat of terrorism means smuggling from Ukraine. This is evidenced by the Border Guard Service and our European colleagues. In recent years, there has been no tendency to increase the number of attempts to move weapons and ammunition illegally, and no stable channels have been identified.

“At the same time, there remains a threat of border with Russia on the border line with the temporarily occupied Crimea. In 2019, the border guards seized 26 weapons and 3,300 ammunition, while in 2018 there were 35 weapons and this year - 3 weapons. Last year more than 35 kg of explosives were detained, 30 kg of total number - at the border with Russia, mainly the powder, which was extracted at the checkpoints on departure from Ukraine. The Service is actively responding to existing threats and introducing European approaches to integrated border management,” said Volodymyr Nikiforenko.

Minister of Internal Affairs Serhii Honcharov noted that effective control of the legal and illegal weapons trafficking requires high-quality cooperation between state authorities and international partners.

“The Ministry of Internal Affairs is developing a policy in the field of combating crime and ensuring public order and security, as well as in protecting the state border. We reaffirm our readiness to lead and coordinate an international weapon control project. We need a comprehensive approach for the whole cycle of a weapon: from the moment of its creation to the moment of its decommissioning and disposal,” said Serhii Honcharov.

The Deputy Minister also noted that the regulatory issue of regulating illegal and legal weapon trafficking remains important.

“The great result of our joint work will be to develop a single version of the Law that meets European standards on the regulation of weapon trafficking. The document should be clearly defined. One of the risks is the issue of regulatory uncertainty. We have to create clear rules of the game, then it will be easier for us to keep control of these rules,” said Serhii Honcharov.