“Putin's tourists” prepare provocations in Donetsk region

The state border service of Ukraine warns about new plans of separatists.

The agency has information about planned mass protests in the Novoazovsk district of the Donetsk region on April 4-5 aimed at further destabilasing the situation in the region by creating obstacles for crossing the Ukrainian border.

The State Border Service calls on participants and organisers of the protests to refrain from participating in illegal activities and recalls that under article 341 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine, actions aimed at hindering the normal work of agencies and organisations are punished with a detention term of up to 6 months, or restriction of liberty or imprisonment of up to 3 years. Any actions hindering a law-enforcement officer from performing his or her duties is punished with a fine of up to 100 non-taxable minimum incomes, or up to one year of community work or a detention term of up to 3 months, under article 343 of the Criminal Code.

The agency underlines that in case of organising illegal actions on the state border of Ukraine, the State Border Service and law-enforcement bodies will have to use all possible measures to bring the actions under control and ensure the normal work of border checkpoints and other agencies.

According to the information from the Ukrainian Interior Ministry, a large number of volunteers from Belgorod, Rostov-on-Don, Voronezh and other Russian cities, as well as criminal elements take part in separatist rallies eastern Ukraine.