MOSCOW, December 13 (RIA Novosti) – Russian opposition leader Boris Nemtsov, who led mass rallies in Moscow last year, said he was denied entry into protest-hit Ukraine on Thursday.
Nemtsov, a former Russian deputy prime minister and current Yaroslavl Region lawmaker, told Ukrainian media that he was not allowed to pass into the country at Kiev’s Borispol Airport.
Ukraine’s Border Guard Service confirmed that Nemtsov was not allowed to enter the country “upon instruction from a law enforcement agency.”
Nemtsov, who co-heads the liberal People’s Freedom Party, said he visited Ukraine a month ago without any problem.
A Ukrainian lawmaker from the ruling Party of Regions has said he sent a request to the country’s Foreign Ministry and Security Service to prevent anyone who had organized the current riots from entering the country.
It was unclear whether Nemtsov’s name was on that blacklist, but the Russian politician earlier publicly voiced support for the Ukrainian protests.
Ukraine unexpectedly put on hold preparations last month to sign landmark political and trade deals with the European Union in favor of strengthening ties with Moscow.
Kiev said European integration would have caused the country financial losses at this point, but the decision sparked protests throughout the country.
The Ukrainian opposition and the EU have accused Russia of putting economic pressure on Kiev not to sign the deals.
Moscow has vehemently denied that its trade embargoes and gas deliveries were a form of intimidation against Ukraine, saying Russia was only taking measures to protect its own economy.
