OSCE-led Mobile Training Team enhances Ukraine’s border security capacities

The OSCE Transnational Threats Department (TNTD) is holding a two-week training programme for 22 State Border Guard Service of Ukraine (SBGS) officers in Warsaw, Poland, from 17 to 28 March. This event kicked off the third year of the OSCE-led Mobile Training Team (MTT).

The training is delivered by a team of border security and counter-terrorism experts from Frontex, the INTERPOL-I Force project, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, the United Nations Office of Counter-Terrorism, and SBGS national experts, among others. The programme will strengthen frontline officers’ capacity to identify and address cross-border threats, including the movement of suspected foreign terrorist fighters, high-risk individuals and perpetrators of organized crime. Tailored to the Ukrainian context, the training programme combines theory and scenario-based exercises, offering a hands-on, comprehensive approach to border security while reinforcing interagency co-operation.

Enhancing border security is not just about strengthening national resilience, it directly contributes to regional stability. “By investing in the skills of frontline officers, we ensure more effective responses to emerging threats, from terrorism to arms trafficking, while upholding international security standards and human rights,” said Siv-Katrine Leirtroe, Head of TNTD’s Border Security and Management Unit.

During the first week, participants will receive specialized training in identity management and travel security; supressing illicit trafficking in small arms, light weapons and conventional ammunition; and crisis management at borders. In the second week, a training-of-trainers course will refine participants’ training delivery skills. This event builds on a previous course conducted in Krakow, Poland, in May 2024. It is implemented as part of the extrabudgetary project “Deployment of OSCE MTT to Address Challenges in Identifying the Cross-Border Movement of FTFs and Other Cross-Border Crimes in the OSCE Area–Phase II”, funded by Germany and the United States of America