With EU support, the Border Police was equipped with two air-cushion vehicles for improving the surveillance of the Moldova-Ukraine blue border

On 9 September, the General Inspectorate of the Border Police of the Republic of Moldova received two air-cushion vehicles (hovercrafts) which are intended for patrolling the blue border segment between Moldova and Ukraine.

Hovercrafts will allow border police officers to conduct patrolling activities in areas with low accessibility and in harsh weather conditions.

As a result, the response time for border incidents (including search and rescue operations) will be reduced.

In addition, an intensive training programme was organized for 14 border police officers which allowed them to acquire advanced knowledge and skills on operation and maintenance of vehicles.

A group of officers were certified as trainers, therefore consolidating the institutional capacity of the Border Police to instruct new hovercraft pilots.

The activities were conducted in the framework of “EU4BorderSecurity” project which is implemented by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Mission to Moldova, in partnership with Moldovan and Ukrainian border and customs authorities.