MOSCOW, October 4. /TASS/. Russia is keeping its visa-free regime for Ukrainian citizens unchanged for humanitarian reasons, unlike the Kiev regime, which has introduced visas for Russians, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said.
"The Russian side has repeatedly stated that it will not retaliate in a tit-for-tat fashion and, unlike the Kiev regime, will not victimize ordinary people who are seeking to maintain family and cultural ties," Zakharova told a news briefing. "On the basis of this humanitarian logic, the visa-free regime will be kept in place."
She recounted that, "last summer, Kiev decided to introduce a visa regime for Russian citizens, thus unilaterally terminating the bilateral intergovernmental agreement on visa-free train travel."
"Before that, let me remind everyone, there had never been a visa regime between Russia and Ukraine," Zakharova emphasized. "Kiev abolished this practice in order to make people-to-people contacts as difficult as possible."
On September 29, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on the entry and exit procedures for Ukrainian citizens. Under the decree, Ukrainian nationals can cross the Russian border without holding a visa simply by presenting either their Ukrainian internal passport or foreign travel passport, a diplomatic or service passport, or an ID card as a sailor or aircraft crew member. It can also be done on the basis of an identity card for those returning to Ukraine (this rule is valid only for departures). As for children, a birth certificate or the passport of their legal representative containing information entries about the relevant minors will be required. People holding expired documents are also entitled to enter Russia.