Ukraine bars entry to Russian males
Ukraine on Friday banned Russian men of combat age from entering the country, a move introduced under martial law after Russia fired on and captured three Ukrainian naval ships off Crimea last weekend.
Ukraine announced it was barring entry to Russian men between 16-60 years and a senior state security official said Kiev was considering whether to respond in kind with “mirror actions” to the Black Sea incident, Reuters reported.
Earlier, in a move applauded in Kiev, US President Donald Trump called off a meeting with Russia’s Vladimir Putin in Argentina to signal Washington’s disapproval of Russian behavior in the naval clash with Ukraine.
The Russian ruble, which is sensitive to events that might lead to new sanctions being imposed on Russia, fell on news of the canceled meeting.
In a further boost to Ukraine, the EU released 500 million euros in financial assistance to Kiev and European Council President Donald Tusk predicted Brussels would roll over sanctions on Russia at a summit on Dec. 13-14.
President Petro Poroshenko, referring to Russia’s seizure, said banning Russian men was important for stopping a full-scale confrontation.
Officials said they might also impose additional restrictions on Russian citizens already in Ukraine.
In Moscow, a Russian lawmaker was quoted by RIA news agency as saying Russia had no plans for a reciprocal move to bar Ukrainian men.
The EU has propped up Ukraine’s war-scarred economy since the reunification of Crimea with Russia in 2014 while prodding the pro-western authorities to pass reforms and tackle corruption.
“Today’s European Commission decision on disbursement comes at a crucial moment when Ukraine and its people face a new aggression from Russia and need to see solidarity from international partners,” said Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis.
Ukraine and Russia have blamed each other for last Sunday’s clash at the Kerch Strait through which ships have to pass to reach Ukrainian ports at Berdyansk and Mariupol. It prompted Ukraine to introduce martial law for a period of 30 days from Wednesday in regions of the country thought most vulnerable to a Russian attack. Poroshenko has requested NATO to deploy ships to the area.
Russia says it will deploy a new division of Pantsir medium-range surface-to-air systems on the Crimean peninsula by the end of the year, Interfax news agency quoted a spokesman for the Southern Military District as saying.
A Pantsir division can comprise between 12 and 18 military vehicles, it said.