During the period of martial law, over 49,000 individuals have been detained at the Ukrainian border for attempting to illegally cross the country’s border
This information was reported by the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS), highlighting an increase in the number of illegal infiltration attempts since the start of Russia's large-scale invasion. As noted by SBGS spokesperson Andriy Demchenko in an interview on the national news marathon, approximately 45,000 men have been detained in recent months for attempting to cross the border in border zones or at checkpoints without proper documents or with forged papers. An additional roughly 4,000 individuals were detained at crossing points during attempts to illegally cross using fake documents or other illegal methods. "Almost 45,000 are the persons detained at the 'green line' of the border or at control points in the border zone, as well as at block posts and control stations. To this figure, we must add another about 4,000 — those who attempted to illegally cross the border through document forgery or other deceitful methods," Demchenko explained in the interview. He emphasized that these figures pertain to the period of martial law and underscored that the official data on border crossings through criminal means, as reported by neighboring countries, pertain to Ukrainians or foreigners detained for illegally crossing the state border. The SBGS spokesperson also drew attention to active cooperation with border services of other countries, particularly the European Union, and joint measures to counter illegal crossings. According to him, the number of attempts to infiltrate Ukrainian territory through the border has significantly increased since the start of the full-scale invasion, indicating a rising threat level and the need for enhanced intergovernmental cooperation. Earlier, Member of Parliament Yulia Yatsik, commenting during a meeting of the temporary investigative commission of the Verkhovna Rada on the issue of illegal border crossing, stated that according to official estimates by the SBGS, approximately 30,000 persons have been detained since the start of 2022 for attempting to violate the state border. At the same time, she noted that, including other cases, nearly 45,000 citizens have illegally crossed into Ukraine. She also added that pre-trial investigation authorities have opened over 7,000 criminal cases related to illegal border crossing, but only slightly more than 400 court sentences have been announced in this sphere so far. This indicates the scale of the problem and the necessity of strengthened measures to combat it. Overall, it can be summarized that the situation at Ukraine’s border remains tense. The large number of illegal infiltration attempts, which have increased amid the war, requires continuous monitoring and active cooperation between Ukraine’s relevant agencies and neighboring countries. Authorities emphasize the importance of strengthening border security, implementing additional safety measures, and increasing criminal liability for violations of customs and border rules to ensure the country’s integrity and security during these challenging times.