Russia is fully prepared to ensure security at the UEFA European Championship, whose matches will be held this summer in the country’s second largest city of St. Petersburg, National Guard Chief Viktor Zolotov said.
"A most important advantage of Russian law enforcement agencies, including the National Guard, over foreign colleagues is huge experience in terms of ensuring security during international mass events, which has been accumulated since the Universiade in Kazan in 2013, the Olympic Games in Sochi in 2014 as well as the FIFA World Cup in 2018 and other events of such a format. Therefore, the National Guard is fully ready to ensure security of the upcoming matches of the European Championship," TASS cited Zolotov as saying.
He recalled that St. Petersburg hosted many other events, including the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum and the annual graduates' holiday "Scarlet Sails." "Providing that the restrictions are gradually lifted, the number of events will surge. We are ready to fulfill all the tasks assigned to us in order to ensure security to a high quality and at a high level," Russia’s National Guard chief concluded.
The UEFA European Championship matches will be held from June 11 to July 11, 2021. St. Petersburg will host the following matches: Belgium vs. Russia (June 12), Finland vs. Russia (June 16) and Finland vs. Belgium (June 21) as well as one of the tournament’s quarterfinals.
