Ukraine to introduce visa regime for Russian citizens

Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council has asked the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to introduce a visa regime with the Russian Federation, announced its secretary, Andriy Parubiy, after its March 19 meeting. The new regime will require that Russian citizens present their foreign passport (instead of their domestic passport) to enter Ukraine, he said. Two days earlier, the Ukrainian government recalled its Russian ambassador “in relation to the situation surrounding the Crimean Autonomous Republic and the necessity of discussing several of its international aspects.”

Ukraine will begin the procedure of leaving the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), in addition to resigning from its current leadership role, as decided by a meeting of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council on March 19. Since its launch in 1991, Ukraine has had an observer/participant role, never becoming a full member.

Zenon Zawada: Introducing a visa regime doesn’t help relations with Russia and its citizens, which will make trade and travel more difficult. Yet the Ukrainian government has presented with no alternative, given the threat of war and active involvement of hundreds of Russian political tourists and special agents in fomenting unrest in Ukraine. Indeed the decision  boost the popularity among Ukrainians for the government, which had done literally nothing before that to respond to the Russian invasion.