Completion of wall on Russian-Ukrainian border postponed till 2025
The Ukrainian State Border Service proposed to amend the plan for the implementation of the Wall project and to move the date for the completion of the fences on the border with Russia until 2025, said the Ukrainian State Border Service in response to the inquiry by the public organization StateWatch.
According to the State Border Service such a delay is caused by the lack of financing and also the increased cost of the construction material and labor. At the same time, the budget for the Wall project for 2020 remained the same as in 2019 - 400 million hryvnias ($15 million USD).
"During 2015-2019, 634 km of engineering barriers were planned to be built along on the Russian-Ukrainian border, as well as the laying of 341 km of gravel roads. 546 km of engineering barriers and 316 km of gravel roads have been built during this period. That is, according to the border guards, the work on the "Wall" project has been done with only 86% of engineering barriers and 93% of gravel roads completed. Therefore, the question remains: what are the defenders of the border planning to complete in the next five years?" -the StateWatch experts ask.
Analysis of the budget program showed a great deal of confusion in the indicators, writes StateWatch. Annual reports contain different names of the same type of work, which greatly complicates both state and civil control over the Wall project.
The abnormally low level of completion of some types of work, as well as a significant increase in the cost of other types of work, indicate problems in planning in the Ukrainian State Border Service, the analysts concluded.
"Five years ago, the funding of the Wall Project was justified by the need for national security. Now this project risks to last for 10 years and turn into a small domestic analogue of the Great Wall of China," the organization concluded.
The "Wall" project involves the construction of a barrier on the border of Ukraine and Russia. Construction is being handled by the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The first stage began in 2015. At that time, the work was carried out in Chernihiv, Sumy and Kharkiv regions. The second stage envisaged the construction of barriers in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions.