Detecting Fake Documents, Protecting Borders: Ukrainian Border Guards Train with EUAM Support (Video)
November 03, 2025
Every day, Ukrainian border guards check thousands of travel and ID documents at border crossing points. Behind each inspection lies an important task – protecting Ukraine’s borders and preventing illegal crossings or smuggling. To make those checks even more effective, a group of 15 officers took part in a hands-on training on document inspection, held on 22–23 October at the Uzhhorod Border Crossing Point in Zakarpattia region.
The two-day training, organised by the EU Advisory Mission (EUAM) Ukraine’s Lviv Field Office, brought together 13 inspectors from the State Border Guard Service (SBGS) detachments in Volyn, Chop, Mukachevo, and Chernivtsi, as well as two officers from the Mostyska Border Checks Training Centre. The sessions were delivered by two experts from the Finnish Border Guard – long-standing EUAM partners known for their extensive experience in document security and border control.
The training combined theory with realistic exercises. Participants learned about common types of document forgery – from altered data pages to falsified security features – and practiced identifying them using real and sample documents. They also studied the Machine Readable Zone standard and methods of person identification, essential for detecting impostors.
Thanks to this EUAM-facilitated initiative, SBGS’ inspectors improved their ability to recognise forged travel and identity documents during border checks. These enhanced skills are key to preventing illegal border crossings and cross-border crime – a priority for Ukraine’s western border regions.
The training also contributed to strengthening the capacity of the Mostyska Border Checks Training Centre, which will continue transferring this knowledge to new generations of border officers. EUAM Ukraine will further support the Centre in implementing document inspection training in line with European best practices.
By strengthening the skills of those on the frontline of border security, EUAM Ukraine continues to help Ukrainian partners ensure safer, more secure borders – and bring Integrated Border Management principles into everyday practice.
