OREANDA-NEWS. Citizens of Ukraine from March 1 of next year will be able to travel to Russia only with passports. The corresponding decision was made by the Ukrainian government, Prime Minister Alexei Goncharuk wrote on his Facebook. According to the prime minister, information from passports will be read by special devices, which should reduce the time for border control.

When entering Ukraine from the territory of Russia, Ukrainians will have enough of an internal passport or birth certificate, Goncharuk added.

The fact that the Cabinet intends to deprive Ukrainians of the right to cross the border with Russia by internal passports was announced on December 5 by the director of the consular service department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Sergey Pogoreltsev. The draft government decree provides for the suspension of the provisions of agreements with Russia between 1997 and 2011 on the conditions for visa-free travel, the official explained.

According to the representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the simplified entry procedure does not correspond to “threats to the national security of the country in conditions of armed aggression from Russia”.