Ukraine to spend $83.5 mn to build wall along Russia border

Kiev: Ukraine will spend a total of 66 million euros (around $83.5 million) for building a wall along the 2,000 km land border with Russia, Prime Minister Arseny Yatsenyuk said Wednesday.

"This sum will enable us to equip the border between Ukraine and the Russian Federation," Yatsenyuk said in a cabinet meeting.

Emphasising that regaining control of the frontier with Russia is a key point of Ukraine's peace plan, Yatsenyuk said that the government has already allocated $15.3 million for the "Wall" project, Xinhua reported.

The project, which has been launched by the government in early September in a bid to "cut off Russian support for insurgents in eastern regions", included installing fortifications and assembling barriers, such as barbed wire and fences with motion sensors and infrared cameras, along the border with Russia.

The construction is expected to be completed by April 2015.

The initiative has drawn criticism, as some experts warned of its expensiveness and ineffectiveness amid the ongoing confrontation between the independence-seeking insurgents and government troops near the border.

Environmental concerns were also raised as the wall construction would affect flora and fauna of the area and prevent the migration of animals.

Kiev has long accused Moscow of supporting rebels in eastern Ukraine with weapons and troops, but Moscow has consistently rejected such accusations.