Kuleba: Visa regime with Russia will protect national security

KATERYNA TYSHCHENKO — FRIDAY, 17 JUNE

Dmytro Kuleba, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, believes that the introduction of a visa regime with Russia will protect Ukraine's national security.

Source: Kuleba's comment published on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website

Quote from Kuleba: "From the very beginning of the [Russian] aggression, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine advocated the introduction of a visa regime with Russia. The time for such a decision has come. This is a deliberate step that will protect the national security of our state.

And it is symbolic that the decision on the visa regime with the Russians coincided with the announcement of the European Commission of a recommendation to grant Ukraine the status of a candidate for EU membership. The direction our state is moving in is obvious."

Details: According to the Minister, the introduction of a visa regime for Russia will strengthen control over the entry and stay of Russian citizens in Ukraine.

"We need to clearly understand who is coming to us from where and for what purpose. The visa regime will help identify people who threaten national security, at a distance from Ukraine," Kuleba said.

Previously: 

• On 17 June, the President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced that from 1 July, 2022, Ukraine will implement a visa entry regime for Russian citizens.
• The Cabinet of Ministers later made such a decision.