Ukraine banned the entry of about 40 artists from Russia
Ukraine banned about 40 Russian actors and singers from entering the country for three years due to their illegal visits to the Crimea, said the head of the State Border Guard Service, Viktor Nazarenko in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
"To date, we have identified about 40 people: artists and other public figures from Russia who visited the Crimea," Nazarenko said and added that the State Border Guard Service is grateful for the help provided by citizens of Ukraine and law enforcement agencies.
The blacklist includes such performers as Lolita Milyavskaya, Yuliya Samoylova, Natasha Koroleva, Nikolai Dobrynin, Lyudmila Artemyeva and others.
Nazarenko said that in 2016, about 5,400 foreigners were banned from entering Ukraine, more than 1,200 of whom were citizens of Russia.
This year, up to 2,500 people have already been denied entry to Ukraine. 616 of them are Russian citizens.
A recent, notable ban was imposed by the SBU(Security Service of Ukraine) on Yuliya Samoylova, Russia’s candidate for Eurovision 2017. She was prohibited from entering Ukraine for three years.