Ukraine spends over $86 million to harden border with Russia

Ukraine's State Border Service said the country had directed over $86 million to harden the state border with Russia.

Report informs, citing TASS, that the country used 2.437 billion hryvnias ($86 million at the current exchange rate) from its state budget for the construction of the Wall from 2015 through 2021.

The country has hardened 403 km of anti-vehicle ditches and constructed 332 km of rocky roads, 149 bridges over ravines, 99 km of metal fences, and 62 km of Egoza spiral barriers as part of the project.

In addition, four strongholds and nine firing positions were equipped on the border sections in the Kharkiv region, along with the construction of nine complexes of video monitoring and alarm systems.

At the end of December 2021, Ukraine's Cabinet approved a new program to strengthen border protection, primarily with Russia and Belarus, providing 36.3 billion hryvnias ($1.33 billion dollars) in funding. Ukrainian authorities planned to strengthen 1,676 km of the border with the Russian Federation and 1,084 km of the border with Belarus in 2022. Until 2024, the country will also work on the border with Moldova and the EU countries.