In March, nearly thousand individuals attempting to illegally cross Ukraine’s border detained

This was announced by Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson for the State Border Guard Service, during a briefing at Ukrinform.

“In total, about a thousand violators who attempted to cross the border illegally were detained in March. However, compared to last year’s figures, there is a downward trend,” he said.

Demchenko suggested that the number of people attempting to cross the border illegally may increase in the near future due to improved weather conditions.

According to him, there are currently fewer such attempts than in previous years. At the same time, most violators do not act independently, particularly when choosing a route. They continue to turn to criminal groups that promise assistance.

“Therefore, our work in collaboration with other law enforcement agencies is also aimed at exposing such criminal groups,” the spokesperson emphasized.

He added that in January and February, operational officers of the State Border Guard Service, together with other law enforcement agencies, exposed 40 illegal groups involved in smuggling people across the border.

Demchenko noted that one such group, including several locals, was recently detained in Bukovina.

As reported by Ukrinform, border guards in the Chernivtsi region foiled a criminal group that had established a large-scale scheme for illegally smuggling citizens across the border for €10,000.