Ukraine is ready to close the border with Russia due to the deteriorating situation in Eastern Ukraine and ongoing anti-terrorist operation

Ukrainian Armed Forces restored control over the city of
Mariupol, Eastern Ukraine
(Image: Euromaidan PR)

Amid the deteriorating situation in Eastern Ukraine and continuous aggression of pro-Russian separatists and Russian terrorists in Donetsk and Luhansk regions the issue of the border closure became more and more important, as an anti-terrorist operation, being launched by Ukrainian SBU (special forces) and Armed Forces in order to restore security and eliminate the terrorist activity in the region doesn’t bring significant results due to the new arrivals of the militants and weapons from the Russian side.

Since three tanks and a column of a military technique with the armed militants has crossed Ukrainian border on Thursday, 12 June, near the city of Snizhne, and moved then further towards the city of Gorlivka (Donetsk region), Ukrainian forces started the next active phase of an anti-terrorist operation.

It’s worth mentioning also that the incident with the tanks, which invaded Ukrainian territory from the Russian side and were apparently Russian ones, was strongly denounced by the Western countries, as EU and US authorities declared that it is totally unacceptable and would cause the third wave of the serious sanctions against Russia and its economical sectors in case Russia will not make any attempts to de-escalate the situation and won’t stop backing and financing the terrorists in Eastern Ukraine. US officials have even called to impose the next wave of sanctions without waiting for the EU move. NATO General Secretary Anders Fogh Rasmussen has stated recently that the incident with the Russian tanks and military technique invading Ukraine would be a serious escalation of the crisis there and reaction of NATO. NATO authorities have stated earlier that its relationships with Russia will be totally reviewed due to Russian aggression.

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko denounced the actions of the Russian side demanding to stop escalation and to come back to the talks in order to resolve the crisis peacefully. President of European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso in his turn has called on Russian President Putin to immediately de-escalate the situation in Ukraine, to stop financing and backing separatists and terrorists in the region, to go on with the gas negotiations and to withdraw the decision of the Russian Federation Council regarding the possibility of the usage of Russian military forces on the territory of Ukraine.

Meanwhile Ukrainian Armed Forces, National Guard and security forces continue their anti-terrorist operation in the region, as the situation in a number of cities including Dontesk, Slovyansk, Kramatorsk and others remains extremely tense and dangerous, with the terrorists still controlling important checkpoints. Ukrainian military though has launched an active phase of the operation and claim to destroy many military bases and checkpoints of the terrorists including heir military technique and vehicles. Thus, three allegedly Russian tanks invaded Ukrainian territory in Thursday were destroyed by Ukrainian forces along with the column of the recently arrived technique. Ukrainian anti-terrorist operation press-center declared that nearly 150 terrorists were killed as a result of an operation, while dozens of them were taken captive. Most of them appeared to be Russian citizens.

Ukrainian city of Mariupol was cleared of the terrorists as Ukrainian National Guard and battalions Azov and Dnipro, consisting of the volunteers, have restored control over the city and eliminate terrorists. The battle was really heavy and lasted since early hours of Friday, and the city is currently under Ukrainian control. Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has issued recently a decree ordering Donetsk authorities to relocate temporally to Mariupol, as the situation in Donetsk itself is still difficult.

As an anti-terrorist operation is ongoing, Ukrainian military and security forces are working actively on the total closure and restoring the control over the border with Russia. Anton Geraschenko, spokesperson of the Minister of Interior Arsen Avakov, has declared during the press-conference held on Friday that Ukrainian security forces and military will close Russian border on Saturday, 14 June. He reported that Ukrainian troops made several raids along the border, restoring the checkpoints, and the border will be taken under the total control since Saturday. All the checkpoints and roads along the border will be patrolled by Ukrainian border guards, military and military technique. In case of illegal attempts to cross the border the fire will be open, so the terrorists and their columns with technique will be destroyed, according to the Ministry of Interior and Armed Forces.

In addition to that Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has ordered earlier to create the humanitarian corridors for Ukrainians of Donetsk and Luhansk regions that are willing to leave the zone of an anti-terrorist operation. Work on creating of these corridors is ongoing.

Meanwhile, there are reportedly some disagreements among the terrorists as well, as the journalists and local activists report some clashes erupting between the representatives of Donetsk People’s Republic and the representatives of Luhansk People’s Republic, both of them designated as the terrorist organizations.