Ukrainian officials say that the Wall is to enhance national security and bring Ukraine closer to NATO membership, while Ukraine’s Prime Minister Arseniy Yatseniuk claims that it would serve as Europe’s de-facto eastern border, Ukraine Today reports.

The government plans to allocate over $1 million in the project by the end of March.

Oleh Slobodyan, of Ukrainian State Border Service said that the first phase of equipping the Ukrainian-Russian border will start in areas under government control, including Kharkiv, Sumy, Chernihiv and Luhansk regions.

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