Almost 16 thousand Russians entered Ukraine in 2024 – State Border Guard Service

17 January 13:22
EXCLUSIVE

According to official information provided by the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine at the request of Komersant ukrainskyi, between March 1, 2022, and January 1, 2025, almost 38 thousand cases of entry crossing of the state border of Ukraine by citizens of the Russian Federation were recorded. In particular, in 2024, there were 15.8 thousand such cases.

“In response to your request of 07.01.2025, we would like to inform you that according to the information available to the Administration of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, in the period from 01.03.2022 to 01.01.2025, in accordance with the current legislation of Ukraine regulating the crossing of the state border, 37.9 thousand cases of crossing the state border by citizens of the Russian Federation to enter Ukraine were recorded, and 15.8 thousand cases in 2024.”

said Serhii Serdiuk, Deputy Head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

As a reminder, on July 1, 2022, Ukraine introduced a visa regime for citizens of the Russian Federation. This decision, made by the government on June 17 at the initiative of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, symbolizes the final severance of ties with Russia due to its aggression against Ukraine.

Prerequisites for the introduction of a visa regime

Ukraine has been gradually restricting entry for Russian citizens since 2014, when Russia annexed Crimea and started the war in Donbas. At first, Russians lost the ability to cross the border with internal passports, and later stricter checks were introduced. However, the visa-free regime remained in place until the full-scale invasion in February 2022.

The introduction of visas was a response to unprecedented threats to Ukraine’s national security. According to Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, this decision is aimed at protecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state.

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How the visa regime works

Since July 1, Russian citizens have been required to obtain a visa to enter Ukraine. However, it is currently impossible to obtain it in Russia:

  • ukrainian embassies and consulates in Russia have ceased operations since the outbreak of full-scale war.
  • vFS Global centers that were supposed to process applications closed in Russia on March 16, 2022.

Ukrainian consulates in other countries will issue visas to Russian citizens who are outside their country. Currently, the visa issuance procedure involves a thorough check with the involvement of the relevant security services.

Border crossing and inspections

Having a visa does not guarantee Russians entry into Ukraine. Each case is reviewed individually by border guards who have access to all the necessary databases. To cross the border, Russian citizens need to justify the purpose of their visit.

Due to the closure of checkpoints on the borders with Russia and Belarus, entry is possible only through the EU or Moldova (except for the uncontrolled Transnistrian segment).

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Anastasiia Fedor
Автор