Ukraine strengthens its borders ahead of Russian-Belarusian Zapad-2017 military exercises
The State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS) will intensify guarding the borders during the Zapad 2017 joint Russia-Belarus military exercise, as stated by Oleh Slobodyan, an assistant to the head of the SBGS.
According to Slobodyan, Russian troops began to arrive in Belarus before the beginning of the exercise. Therefore, "it is necessary to control the situation."
"We started command and staff exercises during which the border line was fortified in all directions without exception, beginning from the ATO zone, northern, western, southern, that is, in all sectors, and we intensify protective measures at least until the end of the Zapad 2017 exercise," Slobodyan said on 112 Ukraine TV.
Earlier, it was reported that Ukraine would conduct the Unbreakable Resistance 2017 military drills in parallel with the Russian-Belarusian exercises. The head of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Viktor Muzhenko explained that the drills are necessary to "adequately respond to external threats" and to prepare "for a possible aggravation of the situation around Ukraine."
As Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko stated earlier, Belarussian President Alexander Lukashenko promised him that the exercise would not be preparation for the invasion of Ukraine.