Italian man who praised Putin on his way to Ukraine is banned for three years

A 53-year-old Italian citizen who praised the Russian dictator on the bus on the way to Ukraine, Vladimir Putin and banned from entering for three years. About this in the commentary LIGA.net said Andriy Demchenko, spokesman for the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine.

He said that border guards noticed a post on social media by a concerned citizen.

So when the 53-year-old foreigner, a citizen of Italy, whom the woman wrote about and who was heading to Ukraine, arrived at the checkpoint, SBGS inspectors took all the necessary border control measures with the involvement of other services.

The detailed check is now complete. The result was a refusal to allow the foreigner to cross the border and a three-year ban on entry into Ukraine.

Demchenko clarified that the foreigner actually has pro-Russian views and justifies Russia's armed aggression against Ukraine. Due to the violation of Ukrainian law, he received the relevant decisions.

He tried to enter Ukraine by bus through the Chop checkpoint.

On January 5, bus passenger Daria Melnichenko said on the social network Threads a story about an Italian man. During a short stop on the route between Ukraine and Italy, the foreigner, who was wearing an embroidered shirt that he said was a gift from his Ukrainian wife, began to criticize Ukraine and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The author of the post said that the foreigner also declared his respect for Putin. When the woman remarked that he should not go to Ukraine with such views, the Italian began to say that "his wife's house is there."

Melnichenko promised to inform the border guards about the Italian's views. As a result, thousands of users followed the story.

• On January 1, Demchenko reported that by 2025, 1400 people attempted to illegally cross the border with Belarus, but the border with the European Union still holds the record for the number of people trying to cross it illegally.