Ukraine launches operation to stop migrants coming from Belarus

The government has allocated $6.5 million to monitor the Belarusian border to prevent groups of illegal migrants from crossing.

The joint operation was launched on Nov. 23. It will be coordinated by the Border Guard Service and carried out by the National Guard, the National Police and the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

Since July, Belarusian authorities have allowed thousands of refugees from the Middle East to come to Belarus and cross the country’s borders with Poland, Lithuania and Latvia. Many of them have tried to break through by force. NATO countries believe this is a form of hybrid warfare by Belarus.

About 2,000 people are currently staying at a warehouse near Belarus’s border with Poland. Dictator Alexander Lukashenko has said that a total of 7,000 refugees and migrants remain in the country.