Russians will no longer be allowed to enter Ukraine without an international passport as part of a measure to protect national security, Ukraine's Cabinet said Tuesday.
The measure ends a 1997 agreement that allowed nationals of the two countries to travel across the border with only a domestic ID such as an internal passport. News reports said the resolution will come into effect on March 1.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk, who signed the resolution, said it is part of an "introduction of European rules for crossing state borders, including for citizens of the Russian Federation," according to a statement released by his Cabinet.
Last April, Ukraine increased border checks on Russian men entering the country amid a violent pro-Russian rebellion in the country's east, and indicated that it would deny entry to any man who did not have proof of a reason to visit, Reuters reported at the time.
