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EU Commissioner: 'Russian citizens should not have easy access to EU.'

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EU Commission has proposed a full suspension of the Visa Facilitation Agreement with Russia, following the agreement reached by the EU foreign affairs ministers on Aug. 31. Ylva Johansson, EU Commissioner for Home Affairs, supported the proposal. "To be a tourist in the EU is not a fundamental right," she added.

Around 1 million Russian citizens have legally entered the EU since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, Bloomberg reports.

Ukrainian officials have been requesting an EU visa ban for Russians for months.

“This is the only way to influence Putin. Because this person has no other fear but fear for his life. And his life depends on whether he is threatened by his internal population or not. Nothing else is threatening to him," President Volodymyr Zelensky told the Washington Post in August.

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The Kyiv Independent news desk

We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent. We are here to make sure our readers get quick, essential updates about the events in Ukraine. Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts.

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The list includes Denys Shmyhal, Ukraine's defense minister and previously the longest-serving prime minister, Digital Transformation Minister Mykhailo Fedorov, military intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov, Deputy Presidential Office head and ex-commander Pavlo Palisa, and Sergiy Kyslytsya, the first deputy foreign minister and one of Ukraine's key negotiators.

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