MOSCOW, August 27 (RIA Novosti) - Russian paratroopers have not noticed that they crossed the Ukrainian border, as there is no strict border control or any kind of barrier, believe the experts interviewed by RIA Novosti.
On Tuesday, Russian military servicemen, who accidentally crossed into Ukraine when patrolling the border, were detained by Ukraine’s military.
UNCLEAR BORDER DEMARCATION
Former General Staff chief of Russia’s Armed Forces, Yuri Baluyevsky, is sure that the paratroopers crossed the border accidentally.
“They have accidentally crossed the border. Let’s be honest, for about 100 kilometers the border is not controlled. There should be a neutral zone and some kind of a barrier, a wire fence for example,” Yuri Baluyevsky told RIA Novosti on Wednesday.
Baluyevsky said only few checkpoints are well managed and argued that “it is possible to get into Ukraine via rural roads.”
DISSORIENTED AT NIGHT
Russian National Geopolitical Academy President Konstantin Sivkov agreed that the paratroopers simply did not notice that they crossed the border, and suggested that Russian soldiers may have gotten disoriented.
Moscow State University Associate Professor of Politics Anatoly Tsiganok also agreed with the view that the soldiers were unaware they were in Ukraine.
“In my opinion, this could have happened because the paratroopers are actively involved in cross-border activities. If this happened at night, we have to understand that the border between Russia and Ukraine is practically absent. There is no demarcation, no signs. To be honest, the border markings are only located in certain places,” Tsiganok said.
RUSSIA HOPES FOR NO PROBLEMS
Earlier, Russian President Vladimir Putin also commented on the incident, saying that the paratroopers were patrolling the border and could have accidentally found themselves in Ukraine.
Putin noted that Ukrainian forces have crossed the Russian border several times in the past in larger numbers. The Russian leader added that such incidents with the Ukrainian forces was never a problem for Russia and expressed hope that in the case of Russian paratroopers, it will not be a problem for Ukraine.
Ukrainian National Security and Defense Council spokesman Andriy Lysenko said the Ukrainian Security Service is now going to decide on what to do with the detained paratroopers.
