In seven months, only 12 citizens of the Russian Federation received visas for entering Ukraine.
The spokesman of the State Border Service Andriy Demchenko informed about this on the air of the telethon.
According to him, almost all of these 12 Russians crossed the border and entered Ukraine. They were mostly women, children and elderly people who received visas and were heading to Ukraine for humanitarian reasons — to reunite with their families or to visit their loved ones.
Ukraine severed diplomatic relations with Russia, so there are no Ukrainian diplomatic missions on the territory of the Russian Federation. Because of this, citizens of the Russian Federation cannot apply for Ukrainian visas on the territory of Russia. This can only be done by Russians who live abroad and have the right to temporary or permanent residence there.
However, the presence of a Ukrainian visa does not guarantee the right to cross the state border of Ukraine — the final decision is made by the border guards.
- On February 11, 2022, a petition on the introduction of a visa regime with Russia appeared on the website of the Office of the President. She scored 25 000 votes, necessary for her consideration by the president. Volodymyr Zelensky supported this idea and instructed the Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal to develop it.
- From July 1, 2022, the visa regime with Russia became operational in Ukraine.