Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister said that Russians who are upset by the prospect of a ban on tourism travelling in Europe can go with their complaints to the Kremlin and to their fellow citizens who support the war.

"Russians who are upset with the prospect of being banned from tourist travel to Europe can direct their complaints to the Kremlin and over 70% of their compatriots who support the war.  No one proposes to ban those few Russians who may need asylum or humanitarian entry," Kuleba wrote.

Russians who are upset with the prospect of being banned from tourist travel to Europe can direct their complaints to the Kremlin and over 70% of their compatriots who support the war. No one proposes to ban those few Russians who may need an asylum or humanitarian entry.

— Dmytro Kuleba (@DmytroKuleba) August 13, 2022

On Friday, Jan Lipavský, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic (which currently presides over the EU Council) suggested to include the ban on issuing visas to citizens of Russia in the new package of sanctions against Moscow.

Previously, he supported a complete ban on the issuance of Schengen visas for Russian citizens, which was proposed by some EU countries.

It will be recalled that on 11 August, the government of Estonia announced that it would not allow Russians with Schengen visas issued by Estonia to enter the country within a week, with a few exceptions.

Kaja Kallas, the Prime Minister of Estonia called to stop issuing tourist visas to Russians for trips to the EU. She stressed that visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right.

The European Commission stated that the question of issuing visas to Russians is within the competence of the member states and they can refuse visas in each specific case on the basis of threats to their own security.