Ukraine Detains Ten Migrants From Syria, Somalia, Jordan Crossing Into EU

Ukrainian border patrol detained ten citizens of Syria, Somalia and Jordan moving toward the Hungarian border, according to the statement of the Ukrainian State Border Service.

KIEV (Sputnik) — Ukraine arrested ten citizens of Syria, Somalia and Jordan, who tried to illegally enter the territory of Slovakia and Hungary, the press service of the Ukrainian State Border Service said in a statement Saturday.

On Tuesday, Hungary enacted its new border control legislation that envisages, among other measures, a criminal penalty of three years in prison for illegally crossing the border and the deployment of the army to the country's borders. The Hungarian border fence was also reinforced with barbed wire.

"Early today…border patrol detained three undocumented persons moving toward the Hungarian border. The detained men said that they were Syrian citizens," the statement said.

According to the statement, five Somalians as well as a Syrian and a Jordanian have been detained in Ukraine trying to cross over into Slovakia.

All undocumented migrants were taken to border checkpoints. The future of the detainees will be decided in court, the statement said.

Amid the major refugee crisis in Europe, Hungary and Slovakia are being used as a gateway to wealthier EU member states by hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants from conflict-torn countries of the Middle East and North Africa.