Lukashenko calls situation on Belarus' southern border increasingly complicated

The situation on Belarus' southern border is getting more and more complicated, Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko said while approving the decision on the state border protection for 2022 on 24 January, BelTA has learned. “Naturally, the security of our state begins with the border, because our sovereignty is safe within our border. The border troops make a considerable contribution to ensuring sovereignty and our effective work in a peaceful period,” the head of state said. Aleksandr Lukashenko noted that in 2021, due to the influx of refugees and the deployment of troops from neighboring countries along the Belarusian border, the border guards had to be more vigilant and participate in reconnaissance activities together with the Armed Forces and the State Security Committee.

“There is a lot of talk now about our southern border. The situation is getting more complicated all the time. They are trying to shift the focus to our joint exercises with the Russian Federation,” the president noted.

According to the State Border Committee, the risks and challenges to border security still persist on the border of Belarus. They are associated with illegal migration, attempts by radicals to infiltrate the country, militarization of neighboring states. For example, since August of last year, the EU countries and Ukraine have amassed a total of about 32,000 troops in the immediate vicinity of the Belarusian border.

They continue the construction of stationary engineering barriers along the border, have been actively using aviation, conducting reconnaissance. «In 2021, the number of detained border violators increased by 23%. Among those detained were sixty-five extremists,» the