Belarus opens new border outpost on border with Ukraine

MINSK. March 20 (Interfax) - The new Semyonovka border outpost has opened in the Gomel district of Belarus on the border with Ukraine, the BelTA state news agency reported on Thursday.

"The construction of the Semyonovka border outpost has become the next stage of improving border infrastructure on the section of the Gomel border group. This division plays a special role in ensuring border security on this track," Konstantin Molostov, chairman of the Belarusian State Border Committee, was quoted as saying by the agency at the opening ceremony.

"It is the second of six border outposts on the Belarusian-Ukrainian state border section, built under a state investment program, which are expected to be put into operation this year," Molostov said.

"The division protects some 20 kilometers of the state border with Ukraine. This zone of responsibility is at the center of the distribution of forces and resources of the Gomel border group. It is one of the most important sections on this track, which is due to the location within its limits of an international motorway and the Novaya Guta crossing point, as well as a developed local road network," the agency reported.