The European Union is strengthening the safety on Ukraine’s ‘green borders’ with new equipment for more accurate data gathering, information exchange, risk analysis, and faster dispatching of border patrols in cases of violations or security threats. ICMPD’s EU4IBM-Resilience project is supporting the country’s State Border Guard Service (SBGS) to address illegal activities, including human trafficking and cross-border crimes.
EU Ambassador to Ukraine, HE Katarína Mathernová, and Ukraine’s SBSG First Deputy Head, MG Volodymyr Nikiforenko, jointly presided the handover ceremony of five border surveillance complexes on 18 September 2024.
“The EU is proud to contribute to the security of Ukraine, which is also the security of Europe. This is our shared challenge, and we stand together with Ukraine. These new surveillance systems will help SBSG to cover larger sections of the border and have better intelligence for more informed and faster reactions to various risks”, said Ambassador Mathernová at the handover ceremony.
The surveillance complexes will allow SBGS operators to efficiently monitor green border areas from a distance using thermovisual technology and image analysis algorithms. Using satellite communication terminals and reserve power supplies, the complexes are operational 24/7, including in distant uninhabited areas. With a total value of €2.2 million, the ICMPD-funded EU4IBM-Resilience project supported the procurement of the equipment.
Following the handover, trainings for operators will ensure the proper use of the equipment; and will be complemented by service and maintenance trainings to guarantee longevity and functioning. The trainers will then be able to train additional personnel and spread the knowledge and skills in future.
The EU’s Border Surveillance System (Eurosur) inspired Ukraine’s transformation from resource- and personnel-heavy border protection approaches to more technology-based border surveillance systems and criminal intelligence. The mobile surveillance complexes are part of the overall EU support to Ukraine on integrated border management and migration, which has been in place for over 10 years.
While the ongoing full-scale aggression against Ukraine shifted focus towards trade facilitation, the EU4IBM and EU4IBM-Resilience projects have responded to the SBGS’s urgent needs, by providing thermo-visual equipment, communication tools, and personal protection devices to Ukrainian border guards; along with capacity building for IBM Coordination Centre and IBM Strategy implementation, alignment to the EU Acquis, and harmonisation of approaches and practices with EU Member States.