KYIV -- Russian citizens will need to obtain visas to enter Ukraine as of July 1, the chief of Ukraine's Border Service, Serhiy Deyneko announced.
"The Ukrainian government’s decision to cancel visa-free visits for Russians went into effect today. Visa-free trips are a privilege for citizens of developed democracies that neither kill civilians nor endanger the sovereignty of neighboring nations," Deyneko wrote on Facebook.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said earlier that Russians could apply for visas in eight cities across Russia -- Moscow, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Kaliningrad, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Rostov-on-Don, and Samara – at the offices of VFS Global, a visa outsourcing company.
The applications will be processed by Ukrainian diplomatic missions in other countries, as Ukraine severed diplomatic ties with Russia shortly after Moscow launched its unprovoked invasion on February 24.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in mid-June that the move to introduce visas for Russians was made "to counter unprecedented threats to Ukraine's national security."
The Russian Foreign Ministry said at the time that it would respond to the move with measures "based on Russia's national interests and humanitarian issues."
