Zelensky asks the international community to ban the entry of all Russian citizens

Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky on Tuesday called on all countries in the international community to ban Russian citizens from entering their respective territories in a renewed attempt to prevent Moscow's annexation of Ukrainian territories.

The Ukrainian president has indicated in an interview with the American newspaper 'The Washington Post' that the "most important sanctions that can be taken are to close the borders" to the Russians. "They must live in their own world until they change their mentality," he has asserted.

His words come after several Russian leaders have defended the idea of ​​holding an annexation referendum in Ukrainian regions such as Kherson and Zaporizhia in mid-September with the aim of "legitimizing Russia's claims to some territories."

Zelenski has thus pointed out that "the Russians must be forced to turn to Russia" so that they "understand it". "They say that this war has nothing to do with them and that the population is not responsible, but the population has chosen this government and is not fighting against it or against the war," he lamented.

"Don't you want this isolation? You are telling the whole world that they should live by your rules. Then go and live there, by those rules. This is the only way to influence (Vladimir) Putin," he said.

The head of the office of the Ukrainian Presidency, Andriy Yermak, has insisted that visiting Europe "is a privilege, not a right" and has underlined the importance of isolating Russia. "Together with our allies, we will do everything possible," he has pointed out.

For his part, the Kremlin spokesman, Dimitri Peskov, has called Zelensky's call to close all Western borders to Russian citizens "irrational" and has indicated that "the statement speaks for itself."

"Most likely, in this case the irrationality of thought is through the roof," he asserted during a press conference, according to the Interfax news agency.

In this sense, he pointed out that "this type of comment usually comes from countries that have already been recognized as unfriendly." "From this perspective, many go into oblivion and return to saying things from 80 years ago," he added.

"I think that, over time, common sense will prevail and those who make these types of comments will end up coming to their senses," he insisted.