Group of Russian actors denied entry to Ukraine for ten years

A group of Russian actors who tried to fraudulently enter Ukraine has been banned from entering the country for ten years, Ukraine's State Border Guard Service has reported.

"During the control measures, border guards of the Bilhorod-Dnistrovskyi detachment have tentatively established that foreigners are members of the lyrical comedy 'Ideal Witness' and they assured [border guards] that there were no grounds to prevent them from performing on tour. However, it was found out that two of the Russians are actors who illegally visited the temporarily occupied territory of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea where they participated in the shooting of a film," the report reads.

The border guards denied them entry to Ukraine and imposed on them a three-year ban on entry to Ukraine.

In particular, actors include Igor Livanov, Elena Korikova, and Pavel Barshak.

Two more foreigners from this group could not confirm the purpose of their trip to Ukraine, which is why they were not allowed to cross the border. The other Russian citizens refused to enter Ukraine.

After all the procedures were completed, they were returned to Moldova.

However, according to Ukrainian border guards, within a few hours, this group of foreigners again appeared on the Ukrainian border. "This time, they have chosen another checkpoint, probably hoping that they will still be able to get to our country. Some foreigners clearly understood that they were under entry bans," the report said.

However, Russian citizens were again stopped during border control measures and were not allowed to enter Ukraine. This time, two Russian citizens who had already been banned from entering Ukraine, through their deliberate failure to comply with the decision, committed an offense under Article 203-1 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of Ukraine and were brought to account, having received a fine. In addition, they had their ban term extended to ten years, the State Border Guard Service said.

The remaining four Russian citizens were banned from entering Ukraine for three years in accordance with the law of Ukraine on the legal status of foreigners and stateless persons.

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