NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov visited the front defensive lines of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of ATO, which suffer the most from shellings by Russian occupation troops

NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Turchynov visited the front defensive lines of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of ATO, which suffer the most from shellings by Russian occupation troops.

Mr. Turchynov visited the defense positions of our troops in the area Zaytsevo, Mayorske as well as near the Donetsk airport, Opytne and "Butivka" mine.

According to Mr. Turchynov, there was not a single day when the Russian occupation forces and terrorist groupings wouldn't have been violating the Minsk agreements and not shell our positions. "Indeed, during our stay near the Donetsk airport, the fire was applied at our positions", - he stressed.

Being at the front lines, Mr. Turchynov checked the reliability of defensive lines and the efficiency of protection of personnel, which is in the very epicenter of fire provocations. NSDC Secretary also checked the logistic maintenance of the front line of defense as well as material and household conditions of doing military service by our troops.

"Organization of the off-duty life of the military very much depends on the professionalism and responsibility of commanders. Where the commander is efficient - there the defense is reliable and the off-duty life is normal", - he stated. NSDC Secretary called a positive thing that at one of the front defensive pivots, "from which town of Gorlivka is well seen and which is taking fire almost every day, the military did not just constructed an underground sauna but sauna with a steam room". According to him, a similar situation regarding the organization of reliable defense and a decent off-duty life of the military "also at our combat positions near "Butivka" mine, which yet since the days of fights for Donetsk airport is being in the epicenter of hostilities".

While staying at the security checkpoint near Zaytsevo, the work of which was temporarily suspended because of constant shellings and danger to the lives of citizens, Mr. Turchynov drew attention of border guards and representatives of Security Service of Ukraine "to the necessity of enhancing the quality of inspections after the resumption of security checkpoint work in order to prevent the infiltration of representatives of sabotage and terrorist groups to the territory of Ukraine".

"The security checkpoint at Zaytsevo will be opened only after the cessation of shelling of this area", - he said, adding that due to the significant increase in the number of shellings the security checkpoint near the village Marinka also may be closed.

At the same time, NSDC Secretary emphasized that the closure of security checkpoints is "not a method of punishment, but a form of protection of lives of our citizens, who use them".

In addition, at the security checkpoint at Zaytsevo Mr. Turchynov held a meeting with the Head of Donetsk military-civil administration Pavlo Zhebrivskyi, regional executives of the Security Service of Ukraine, National Police and border guards.

During the meeting problems of Donetsk region and ways to solve them quickly and efficiently were discussed.

According to the Head of military-civil administration, the flow of goods contraband have decreased in the region, but the intensification of financial contraband, "which is quite difficult to fight", is being observed. In this regard the issue on introduction of declaring of financial means, which are transported across the line of demarcation, was talked over at the meeting, in order to block the illegal coming-in of money to the uncontrolled territory for prevention of financing of terrorist groupings.

NSDC Secretary also held a meeting with the executive staff of the anti-terrorist operation with the participation of representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff on countering aggression on the part of occupation units of the Russian Federation.