Ukraine's Security Service has banned Diana Șoșoacă, the leader of the far-right party SOS Romania, from entering the country due to her repeated anti-Ukrainian and pro-Russian statements. The entry ban is valid for three years, according to the official announcement.
The Ukrainian Security Service said Șoșoacă supports the Russian war against Ukraine and questions Ukraine's national sovereignty and internationally recognized borders.
The decision follows a letter Diana Șoșoacă sent to Russian president Vladimir Putin after Romania's Central Electoral Bureau (BEC) rejected her candidacy for the presidency. In the letter, she complained to Putin about being barred from running and claimed she wanted to "reclaim" territories currently belonging to Ukraine, which she described as historically Romanian, according to Euronews Romania.
Diana Șoșoacă appealed BEC's decision to invalidate her presidential bid, but the Constitutional Court upheld the ruling, meaning she cannot run in the May presidential elections. The top court also rejected her candidacy in last year's elections.
Reacting to Ukraine's entry ban, the SOS Romania leader said: "Considering that the state of Ukraine does not exist, that it is an artificial state whose illegal and unconstitutional power discriminates against my fellow Romanians in Northern Bukovina, Bessarabia, Hotin, and Historic Maramureș, I ignore and do not care at all about their ban. I will enter anywhere, anytime, in any way on our Romanian land in Northern Bukovina. Northern Bukovina is Romania!"
She also stated that those who "pretend to be the Ukrainian state" are "neo-fascists and criminals." In addition, the Romanian politician said she had been informed that there was "a very serious and imminent threat" to her life because Ukraine's Security Service had come forward with this announcement instead of allowing the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry to handle communication.
irina.marica@romania-insider.com
(Photo source: Inquam Photos/Sabin Cirstoveanu)
