Korwin-Mikke's visit to Crimea late last year "to see what the situation is really like" was met with sharp criticism from both Kiev and Warsaw. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry claimed that the visit violated international law and Ukrainian legislative procedure. The Polish Foreign Ministry, for its part, suggested that the visit to the Russian peninsula was "highly irresponsible."
Korwin-Mikke is not the first European politician to face censure from Kiev over a visit to Crimea. Earlier, Ukrainian prosecutors launched a similar case against former Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, Radio Poland recalled. Earlier, Ukrainian authorities also issued complaints against French lawmakers who visited Crimea last summer, with one Ukrainian MP even threatening the lawmakers with jail time.