Support The Moscow Times!

Sobchak Added to Ukraine Blacklist After Announcing Crimea Visit

Sergey Karpukhin / Reuters

Presidential candidate Ksenia Sobchak has been added to an unofficial Ukrainian blacklist after announcing her plans to visit Crimea as part of her election campaign.

Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014 in a move that was met with Western sanctions. Shortly after announcing her bid for the presidency in the March 18 elections, Sobchak made headlines saying, “according to international law, Crimea is Ukraine's. Period."

In an interview on Tuesday with the Echo Moskvy radio station, Sobchak said she had filed a request with the Ukrainian government to visit Crimea. The next day, her profile appeared on the Facebook page of the Myrotvorets Center, a Kiev-based activist website that identifies people who “pose a threat to Ukraine’s national security.”

“You cannot violate Ukrainian state borders,” their Facebook post begins, adding that Sobchak was added to a list of “mercenaries, terrorists and their accomplices and Russian war criminals.”

Sobchak’s campaign headquarters said on Wednesday that the website would not deter Sobchak from visiting Crimea if she is given approval from the Ukrainian government, the RBC business portal reports.

“If I go to Crimea, it will be through Ukrainian territory”, she told Echo Moskvy on Tuesday. “I think it’s the right the to do.”

Sign up for our free weekly newsletter

Our weekly newsletter contains a hand-picked selection of news, features, analysiss and more from The Moscow Times. You will receive it in your mailbox every Friday. Never miss the latest news from Russia. Preview
Subscribers agree to the Privacy Policy

A Message from The Moscow Times:

Dear readers,

We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."

These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.

We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.

Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.

By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.

Once
Monthly
Annual
Continue
paiment methods
Not ready to support today?
Remind me later.

Read more