U.S. rejects Ukraine demand of blanket visa ban on Russians

FILE PHOTO: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy attends a joint news conference with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres following their meeting in Lviv, Ukraine August 18, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States on Monday 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.

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."