US rejects Ukrainian call for blanket ban on visas for Russians

State department says it does not want to close off pathways for Russian dissidents and victims of human rights abuses

The United States has rebuffed Ukraine's demand for a blanket visa ban on Russians, saying Washington would not want to close off pathways to refuge for Russia's dissidents and others who are vulnerable to human rights abuses.

The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskiy, had first urged the visa ban in an interview earlier this month with the Washington Post, saying Russians should live in their own world until they change their philosophy".