Ukraine threatens travel ban for Marine le Pen

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has indicated that it may ban far-right French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen from travelling to Ukraine. It said Le Pen had showed “disrespect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine” by endorsing the referendum held by Russia in Crimea in 2014 on whether Crimea should rejoin Russia. The EU and USA have described the referendum as “farcical” and, along with the G7 countries, continue to call for Russia to return Crimea to Ukrainian control before Russian sanctions are lifted (see previous blog).