Ukraine has called on the European Union and the G7 to ban Russian travelers in a bid to end Russia’s invasion, NBC News reported. The call has drawn mixed reactions from various countries, with some opposing the idea of a visa ban for ordinary Russians, NBC News reported. “We are not talking about punishment, we are talking about restrictive measures aimed at ending the war,” Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu told NBC News. “The right to enter any particular country is not a human right.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has previously called for a ban on Russian tourists, telling the Washington Post earlier this month that “the most important sanctions are to close the border — because the Russians are taking away someone else’s land.” It has been over six months since Russia invaded Ukraine. In an op-ed earlier this week, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said a ban on Russian tourists, businessmen and students would be “an appropriate response to Russia’s genocidal war of aggression.” “But why should we sanction ordinary Russians?” some ask. Because the vast majority of them support this war, they cheer the killing of Ukrainian civilians, praise the missile attacks on Ukrainian cities and deny Russian war crimes,” Kuleba said. Countries such as Germany and the US have expressed their opposition to banning visas for ordinary Russians. “This is not the Russian people’s war, but Putin’s war,” German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, according to Politico. Reuters reported that a State Department spokesman said the US “would not want to close avenues of refuge and safety for Russian dissidents or others vulnerable to human rights abuses.” “We are also clear that it is important to draw a line between the actions of the Russian government and its policies in Ukraine, and the people of Russia,” the spokesman added. Poland and Finland have come out in favor of banning Russian tourists, NBC News reported. Finland has also said it will reduce the number of visas it gives to Russians starting next month, Reuters reported.
