British ambassador does not see possibility for visa liberalization with Ukraine
The United Kingdom does not see an opportunity for visa liberalization with Ukraine in the near future. This issue is complicated by the fact that, previously, a Ukrainian passport was illegally obtained by a citizen of another state: the killer of Chechen volunteer soldiers Adam Osmayev and Amina Okuyeva, who fought on the Ukrainian side in the Donbas during the summer of 2017. This was stated by the British Ambassador to Ukraine Judith Gough in an interview with the Ukrainian publication Novoye Vremya.
According to Gough, the British side expects a proper investigation of the facts to ensure that the process of issuing visas in Ukraine is protected and safe. Otherwise, liberalization threatens the UK and the security of its citizens, the British ambassador explained.
According to Gough, the simplification of the visa regime with Ukraine is still impossible because of a lack of guarantees for the protection of the visa issuing process by Ukraine.
The first attempt on Adam Osmayev and his wife Amina Okuyeva occurred on June 1 in Kyiv, during which Osmayev was wounded. The Speaker of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, Artem Shevchenko, told Novoye Vremya that the shooter had a Ukrainian passport issued in February 2016. The authenticity of this document and the identity of the shooter have been established. Ukrainskaya Pravda, citing the police, reported that that the name on the passport was Oleksandr Dakar; Dakar had previously arrived in Ukraine from the Bryansk region in Russia.
The second attempt on Osmayev and Okuyeva occurred on October 30 near the village of Hlevakha in Kyiv Oblast. Okuyeva died as a result of a wound in the head, while Osmayev suffered injuries, though he was not critically injured.
In May 2017, Ukraine and the European Union signed an agreement on a visa-free regime. In July, the EU Council completed the ratification of the Association Agreement of Ukraine.