Around 4,500 members of illegal armed groups are active in the southeastern regions of Ukraine, head of the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) Valentyn Nalyvaichenko has said.
“We are aware of the background, numbers and location of Russian officers, saboteurs, mercenaries and traitors from police and SBU… Such groups of terrorists and gunmen in Donbas include a total of 4,500 people,” he said in an interview with the Den daily published on Friday.
Reinforcements of militants arriving from Russian territory pose a key threat to the national security of Ukraine, Nalyvaichenko said.
“This circumstance is not allowing us to settle the situation and restore peace,” he added.
“If the Russian side does not stop the flow of weapons and prevent members of illegal armed groups from crossing the border, we do not need such a border. There [along the border] we will have to build specialized installations and shut down the border completely,” he said.
