| 7 September 2009 On September 4th in Kyiv at the Main Communication Centre of the State Border Guards Service of Ukraine was held a ceremony of transfer of 24 mobile "Volkswagen" vehicle based thermovision border surveillance sets with the participation President of Ukraine Viktor Yushchenko, Head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Ukraine, Ambassador Jose Manuel Pinto Teixeira, Chairman of the State Border Guards Service of Ukraine Mykola Lytvyn. This event has become another step on the path of cooperation of the Administration of the State Border Guards Service of Ukraine and the European Union. A joint international technical assistance project «BOMUK-4 – Strengthening of Border Management: Supply of Special Equipment for the State Border Guards Service of Ukraine» was initiated last year and as a result at the beginning of 2009 were delivered more than 20 biometric passport documents verification sets for the total of more than 211 thousand Euro. They have been integrated into the State Border Guards Service's information-telecommunication system «Gart» and are being used in the «Borispil» airport. Today's equipment delivery whose total cost amounts to more than 12 M €, is another stage of the BOMUK-4 project implementation. Today the thermovision equipment - both portable and mobile – is actively and well used in the process of Ukrainian state border control. Future officers and contracted servicemen are trained how to operate this equipment at the National Academy of the State Border Guards Service and the Training centre for Junior Staff. The thermovisors help better control any terrain at any time of day or night and at any weather conditions. They allow for more efficient control of border sections and fight illegal activities. Just for example – each of the mobile thermovision sets handed over today allows for detection of a person in the range of up to 12 km, and a vehicle - up to 18 km. Consistent efforts of the State Border Guards Service of Ukraine in the area of international cooperation has been bringing already for a long time positive results promoting strengthening of the national security at the state border. Yet today Ukrainian border guards undertake joint patrols with their Russian, Belarusian, Polish and Romanian colleagues. There is in place border guards' liaison officers system allowing for an operative settlement of interaction issues. Ukrainian border guards learn better practices applied in developed states and introduce new technologies into border control procedures in our country. As for the attraction of international technical assistance, yet in the course of 2009 there are being implemented 18 international technical assistance projects supported by the European Union, Government of the United States and other international organisations where the State Border Guards Service units has received the equipment for the total amount of more than 100 M UAH. Following the equipment handing over ceremony the President of Ukraine and other guests were invited to get acquainted with the operation activities and performance capabilities of the Main Communication Centre. This unit is an important element of state border control forces management system. It is destined to ensure radio-, wire and satellite communications, data transmission over the closed channels etc. Afterwards the guests were invited to the dormitory having 18 apartments and 43 rooms. The building was rearranged out of an ex-barrack since the service's transition to contracted staffing procedures. There were applied modern building technologies and materials, and energy saving know-how. This building has got centralized heating, electricity and water supply. It has all the necessary living conditions: gym, laundry, children's playground etc. Also the President saw construction site were it is planned to build residential house for the State Border Guards Service of Ukraine staff and their family members on the account of joint development of the land lots. In general in line with the Departmental Housing Programme of the State Border Guards Service of Ukraine approved in 2005, foresees that service housing would be reconstructed out of ex-military buildings and barracks, purchased from other clients, on the account of payment of accounts receivable, through joint development of the land lots and resettlement. In total during 2005-008 out of all the sources the State Border Guards Service of Ukraine received 1069 apartments and 260 rooms, including 746 apartments and 99 rooms, built, reconstructed or purchased from other clients on the account of the state budget. Yet in 2009 in spite of the crisis the Service has got 96 apartments and 29 rooms. It is planned to receive 267 apartments and 89 rooms in total by the end of this year.
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