PThe resident of Ukraine instructed the Prime Minister Denis Shmygal and the head of the SBU Ivan Bakanov to analyze the compliance of the current regime of entry of Russians to Ukraine with the protection of national interests
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky responded to an electronic petition calling for a ban or restriction on Russians entering the country, promising to study the issue. His answer is posted on the website of the head of state.
“The introduction of additional changes in the mode of travel of citizens between Ukraine and Russia requires careful study and analysis of all possible development scenarios, in particular, from the point of view of security aspects and possible social consequences of innovations,” Zelensky noted.
He sent an electronic petition to the Prime Minister of Ukraine Denis Shmygal, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council Alexey Danilov and Head of the Security Service Ivan Bakanov with a request to analyze the compliance of the current regime of entry into the country of Russians with national interests and security needs.
The author of the petition is the ex-leader of the Odessa “Right Sector” (an extremist organization banned in Russia) Sergey Sternenko. The petition has gained more than 26 thousand signatures.
“I ask the President of Ukraine, in order to protect the citizens of Ukraine and the national security of the state in the context of Russia’s ongoing armed aggression against Ukraine, to initiate the introduction of a ban for Russian citizens to visit the territory of Ukraine or the introduction of a visa regime,” the text of the petition says.
Sergei Sternenko was found guilty in February of kidnapping a deputy of the Limansky District Council from the party “Trust the Affairs” Sergei Shcherbich was sentenced to seven years and three months in prison. Sternenko himself pleaded not guilty and stated that the case was politically motivated.
In 2019, the State Border Service of Ukraine refused entry to more than 4.5 thousand Russians. In 2018, Ukrainian border guards also refused entry to 6.5 thousand Russian citizens. The reasons for the non-admission were non-confirmation of the purpose of the trip, exceeding the period of stay and violation of the legislation on visiting the Crimea.
In the autumn of 2018, against the background of the incident in the Kerch Strait, when three Ukrainian ships entered the territorial waters of Russia, the then acting Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko announced restrictions on entry into the country for men from Russia aged 16 to 60 years.
The Ukrainian leader explained this decision by the need to exclude for Moscow the possibility of the formation in Ukraine of detachments of private armies, which in fact are representatives of the Armed Forces of Russia.
In December of that year, the Border service of Ukraine announced the lifting of this ban. However, at the border, the Ukrainian side is still checking men from Russia in an enhanced manner.
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