MOSCOW, November 29. /TASS/. The agreement between Russia and Ukraine that spelled out the border crossing procedure for residents of adjacent regions expired on November 9, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.

"On November 9, 2023, the agreement between the Russian government and the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers on the crossing the Russian-Ukrainian state border by residents of border regions of Russia and Ukraine, signed in Donetsk on October 18, 2011, was terminated," the document reads.

In December 2022, the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers approved a draft law on the termination of the agreement with the Russian government on the border crossing procedure by residents of the border regions of the two countries. The document provided for simplified border crossing by these categories of citizens.

The agreement between Moscow and Kiev on cooperation and interaction for the development of border checkpoints was also terminated earlier.

Ukraine introduced a visa regime for Russian citizens on July 1, 2022. The Ukrainian government adopted the decision at the initiative of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky. The Ukrainian authorities claim that the visa regime was introduced to counter threats to national security. Moscow points out that it is impossible to implement it seeing as how Ukraine has severed diplomatic relations with Russia, and this decision only demonstrates Kiev's incompetence.