UKRAINE: Ukraine deports more than 80 Chinese immigrants who had tried to get to Western Europe

Record ID: 348667

  • Title: UKRAINE: Ukraine deports more than 80 Chinese immigrants who had tried to get to Western Europe
  • Date: 27th June 2006
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (Ukrainian) UKRAINIAN BORDER GUARD COLONEL ANDRIY FEDOSEEV, SAYING: "Today Ukraine is a transit country and the majority of illegal migrants are trying to get to Western European countries through the territory of Ukraine."
  • Embargoed: 12th July 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Ukraine
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Crime / Law Enforcement,International Relations
  • Reuters ID: LVA64FN61W1TWTEFZ9KTBUOJSBYB
  • Story Text: Ukrainian authorities on Monday (June 26) deported 87 Chinese migrants back to China. The migrants had been arrested during the last months in various locations along the western Ukraine border as they were trying to illegally enter Europe.
    Authorities said most of them had been arrested on the border with Slovakia.
    With Poland and Slovakia now part of the European Union, Ukraine -- as the new external border of Europe -- attracts tens of thousands of people per year who hope to illegally transit into Europe.
    "Today Ukraine is a transit country and the majority of illegal migrants are trying to get to Western European countries through the territory of Ukraine," said Ukrainian border guard Colonel Andriy Fedoseev.
    "They have entered Ukraine both legally and illegally. Legally - through airports, including this one, Boryspil. Illegally - mostly through the Russia-Ukraine border," he added.
    Ukrainian authorities said in the first half of 2006 more than 7,000 illegal migrants were arrested, most of them coming from CIS countries.
    The Chinese embassy in Kiev paid for the costs to fly the Chinese illegals back to Beijing.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2014. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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