Media: Instead of introducing visa requirements Ukraine is tightening entry procedures for Russians
According to Russia's Kommersant newspaper, the government of Ukraine is developing a resolution on a new procedure for Russian citizens entering the country.
"In the near future, the government of Ukraine will adopt a resolution on a new procedure for Russian citizens entering the country. There will be no change to the visa policy, however there will be other serious restrictions. Border crossings will only be permitted to those with a biometric passport along with the completion of a questionnaire on the Foreign Ministry’s website," Kommersant writes, referring to "several sources in the Verkhovna Rada."
According to them, initially it was planned to introduce a full-fledged visa policy with the Russian Federation, but in the end, they decided to abandon this idea so that Ukrainian citizens who stayed in the annexed Crimea could travel to mainland Ukraine.
"In the questionnaire, a Russian citizen will have to provide information about himself, including his profession and his place of work, as well as the exact purpose of the trip and the areas he plans to visit, and he will have to notify the Monistry of his arrival a month prior- except in emergency cases, such as the illness or death of a relative," Kommersant writes citing a source in the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry.
It was noted that the questionnaire could be completed "in Ukrainian or in English."
According to Kommersant’s sources, the decision to change the visa policy will be made not by the parliament, but by the government, and it is possible that this will happen before September 1st.
The decision to introduce a visa requirement with Russia was made by the National Security and Defense Council back in March 2014, at the very beginning of Russian aggression against Ukraine. At that time, authorities did not dare take that step. Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk said that many Ukrainians are interested in preserving the visa-free policy, primarily in the east and south of the country, as there are residents in those areas who go to Russia for work and have relatives on the other side of the border. As a result, it was decided to strengthen security at the border.
In February 2016, the first deputy chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Andriy Parubiy, along with other deputies, proposed a resolution to end the visa-free policy between Ukraine and Russia.
In May 2017, it was reported that the Verkhovna Rada had checked the potential votes in order to assess the prospects for the introduction of a visa requirement with Russia.
On June 1, 2017, the Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksandr Turchynov, stated that the issue of the visa policy with the Russian Federation "is not just overdue, but already past due." On June 24th, he said that Ukraine will tighten the conditions for Russians to enter Ukraine. Until visas are introduced, crossing the border will be allowed only to those that possess biometric passports.