Italian man was banned from entering Ukraine for 3 years after he expressed support for Putin

Border guards did not allow entry to an Italian national, Rocco, travelling to Ukraine after he spoke about his support for Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He has been banned from entering the country for three years.

Source: Andrii Demchenko, spokesperson of the State Border Guard Service, told UP.Zhyttia

Details: He noted that attention was drawn to the situation thanks to a post by a concerned citizen. When the 53-year-old foreign national arrived at the Chop border crossing point, inspectors carried out the necessary control measures.

The Italian man was refused entry and banned from entering Ukraine for a period of three years.

"Essentially, he holds pro-Russian views and justifies Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. Due to violations of Ukrainian legislation, the man received the relevant decisions at the border," Demchenko said.

Background:

• The incident became known after a Threads post by user Daria Melnichenko. She was travelling to Ukraine on the same bus as the Italian man.
• The woman said that during one stop, an Italian man dressed in a Ukrainian traditional shirt who introduced himself as Rocco struck up a conversation with her. He said he was travelling to Ukraine together with his Ukrainian wife.
• Later, the Italian criticised Ukraine and its president and expressed respect for Putin.
• Daria's post about this incident gained thousands of comments and tens of thousands of likes. She promised to tell border guards about the man's expressed views.

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