KIEV, December 18. /TASS/. The Ukrainian government has obliged Ukrainian citizens to visit Russia only using foreign passports to increase border control and to restrict the amount of trips to Russia, head of the Ukrainian Institute for Analysis and Political Management Ruslan Bortnik told TASS on Wednesday.

Ukrainian citizens will use only foreign passports when traveling to Russia starting from March 1, 2020. "Starting from March 1, 2020 border crossing with Russia for Ukrainian citizens traveling from Ukraine will be carried out only on foreign passports," Ukrainian Prime Minister Alexei Goncharuk informed earlier on Wednesday.

"There are several reasons for this decision. Firstly, unlike a national passport, a foreign document includes stamps on border crossing, which raises the level of border control," Bortnik said.

The second goal is to restrict the number of Ukrainian citizens travelling to Russia, the expert added. "Only a third of the Ukrainian population has foreign passports. According to various estimations, only 14-15 mln Ukrainians have them, which is why this decision will lead to a decrease in trips to Russia, especially in border areas, where people visit relatives, neighbors, friends across the border, especially those who did not have the need to get a foreign passport before."

The Ukrainian nationals’ foreign passports will be checked by special equipment, the Ukrainian PM informed earlier, noting that the procedure would reduce queues at border control. Citizens traveling from Russia to Ukraine will be allowed to use their internal passports and birth certificates.

The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry explained the decision to cancel the simplified procedure of entry to Russia for Ukrainian citizens by "existing threats to national security in the conditions of armed aggression against Ukraine.".