Steven Seagal Banned From Ukraine

Country says he's a security threat
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted May 6, 2017 7:29 AM CDT
Steven Seagal Banned From Ukraine
Vladimir Putin and Steven Seagal visit a new sports arena in Moscow.   (Alexei Nikolsky/Sputnik, Kremlin File Pool Photo via AP, File)

Steven Seagal spends a lot of time in the nations that used to make up the USSR, but one of them has now declared him persona non grata. Ukraine has slapped the actor with a 5-year ban from the country, labelling him a threat to national security, the Guardian reports. Seagal, who has called Russia's 2014 seizure of Crimea "very reasonable" and played at a concert put on by separatists in the region, became a Russian citizen in November with an executive order signed by Vladimir Putin, who personally delivered his Russian passport.

Ukraine says Crimea is still part of its territory and anybody who travels there needs to get permission from Kiev. The order from Ukraine's security service states that Seagal has "committed socially dangerous actions" that "contradict the interests of maintaining Ukraine’s security." Other stars banned from Ukraine over the Crimea issue include Gerard Depardieu, who was granted Russian citizenship in 2013. The Telegraph reports that the country has also banned Russian singer Yulia Samoylova, the country's Eurovision Song Contest nominee, meaning she won't be able to compete in the finals in Kiev this month. (More Steven Seagal stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X