You're reading: Ukraine detains 36 illegal migrants near border with Russia

KYIV, Aug 3 – Border guards in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region detained 36 illegal migrants from Asian countries, officials said Thursday.

Three Pakistanis, 26 Indians and seven Afghanis illegally crossed into Ukraine from Russia on Wednesday, and border guards stopped their truck 15 kilometers (9 miles) inside Ukraine, said Oleksandr Sluma, a border guard spokesman.

Sluma said that 33 other migrants had been detained in the region over the past two weeks. The detained were from India, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Sierra Leone, he said.

Last year, 14,646 migrants were detained in Ukraine, up from 11,744 in 1998 and 10,776 in 1998, Sluma said.

Ukraine has seen a growing influx of illegal migrants since the 1991 collapse of the Soviet Union and a loosening of its border regime. Many migrants try to sneak into Europe with the help of professional guides.