President of the Republic of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko approves State Border Committee report on the protection of the Border in 2021

Summing up the results of the operational activities of the border service bodies, the head of the border department noted that all the tasks and instructions given by the Head of State to the border service bodies in 2020 have been completed. The situation on the border remained stable and controlled, no threats to the border security of the Republic of Belarus were identified.

Border crossing restrictions in force since the beginning of last year in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, as well as an increase in the density of border protection and border protection, have led to a decrease in the activity of certain types of illegal activities at the border.

At the same time, risks and challenges to border security associated with illegal migration, smuggling and attempts to cross the border by radicalized people remain at the borders of Belarus. The territory of Belarus was still used for the transit of illegal migrants from disadvantaged regions to the countries of the European Union.

In general, there is a tendency towards a decrease in the number of violations of the legislation on the state border. They decreased by more than 2 times (from 4 to 1.8 thousand).
Counteracting organized forms of cross-border crime by the border service bodies, independently, as well as in cooperation with other departments, opened and suppressed 12 drug trafficking channels. 45 persons with signs of involvement in extremist activities were identified.

As part of the fulfillment of the instructions of the Head of State to increase the total number of border service bodies in 2020, new staff units are aimed at creating new and completing the existing border units and maneuver groups. A new frontier post “Derazhichi” of the Gomel frontier group and two maneuvering groups in the Grodno frontier group and the Polotsk frontier detachment were formed, and the staffing of about 50 operating border units was increased, including the strengthening of border control offices in the Latvian and Ukrainian directions.
Particular attention in the comprehensive work was paid to improving effective interaction with citizens living in the border area. As part of the voluntary participation of the local population in the protection of the state border, 45% of violators of border legislation were arrested last year.

In 2020, as part of building up the infrastructure of the state border, Belarusian border guards have used more than 5 million 151 thousand US dollars of international technical assistance. As part of the continuation of demarcation work, about 80 kilometers of the border with Ukraine have been designated within the Lelchitsy district of the Gomel region. At the same time, design and survey work is underway to demarcate the territory of the Polesie State Radiation and Environmental Reserve. About 945 kilometers of the border were drawn from the map to the terrain, more than 628 kilometers of borders were marked, 1191 border signs were set.

In the past year, active work continued to improve the infrastructure of the border and border area. On the Baltic and Ukrainian directions, tens of kilometers of new security lines have been erected with border roads, bridges, gates and a control strip. In some sections of the Polish direction, a complete replacement of technical equipment is carried out with modern systems with video surveillance elements, and the implementation of this task will continue this year. The emphasis is on the installation of automated technical observation posts for remote monitoring of extended open areas of the terrain. Modern equipment allows you to remotely monitor the guarded section of the border and the surrounding area in the daytime and at night, and also provides control of remote and wetlands. The posts are equipped with autonomous power sources: solar panels, wind generators, batteries and are integrated into an intelligent border guard system. This approach to building an “intellectual frontier” allows the unit to act only on real violators, saving material resources, human resources and significantly increasing efficiency.

Last year, the Khoiniki frontier post, as well as the Derazhichi modular outpost of the Gomel frontier group, began to guard the border with Ukraine within the Polesie State Radiation and Environmental Reserve and adjacent territories. Compact multifunctional modules are equipped with everything necessary for comfortable living and efficient performance of office tasks. Such mobile and economical units can be deployed in a short time on any part of the border. In addition, a monitoring center has been created that allows online remote control of over 100 km of the border with Ukraine using various security and surveillance systems.

The task of bringing the units directly to the border is being solved – the Olmany frontier post of the Pinsk detachment, which was opened at a new location, was redeployed from the city of Stolin directly to the guard line, which significantly increased the response efficiency of the frontier detachments.

Another priority: creating comfortable conditions for the service and life of border guards in the border outposts under construction and reconstruction. Local authorities are of great help in this matter.

Completed implementation of the “electronic queue” system at the checkpoint
“Bruzgi”. Work continues on the transfer of certain functions of border guards to the customs at the checkpoints Novaya Rudnya, Kotlovka, Mokrany and Svisloch.
Together with the State Customs Committee, the modernization and reconstruction of the Urbany checkpoint on the Belarusian-Latvian border was carried out, work continues at the Verkhniy Terebezhov checkpoint on the border with Ukraine, which is scheduled to be completed in March this year.

A lot of work is being done by the border service authorities to combat the spread of coronavirus infection and prevent its import from the territories of foreign states. At the border checkpoints, the border guards, together with the employees of the sanitary and quarantine points, solve the tasks of identifying persons with signs of a dangerous disease in the flow, issue requirements for self-isolation to those who arrive from the countries of the “red zone”. In 2020, about 4 million vehicles and about 9 million persons were allowed to pass through the border. The decrease in flows is primarily due to the introduction of border crossing restrictions by neighboring states.

Among the main tasks for 2021 is to increase the efficiency of protecting the state border by improving the engineering and technical equipment of the borders, as well as bringing units closer to them. Active construction of signaling complexes and the installation of automated technical observation posts for reliable control of protected areas will continue.
The online monitoring center created at the Khoiniki border post allows remote monitoring of over 100 kilometers of the border with Ukraine using various security and surveillance systems. This year, its capabilities will increase several times.

It is planned to complete work on the designation of the Belarusian-Ukrainian border from Belarus within the Lelchitsy district of the Gomel region.

Following the results of the report, Alexander Lukashenko approved the decision on the protection of the State Border of the Republic of Belarus by the border service bodies in 2021.