Yegor Aleyev/TASS
“For the first time, we are proposing to ban entry into the European Union for anyone who has served in the Russian Armed Forces since the start of the war,” von der Leyen said at a briefing in Brussels.
According to her, the measure will affect all Russians who participated in military operations in Ukraine or served in the Russian army after February 2022. If the proposal is approved by EU member states, entry into the EU for this category of citizens will become impossible.
According to Euronews, tightening visa policies toward Russians remains one of the European Union’s priorities. Earlier, on June 6, European Commission Migration Commissioner Markus Lampert stated that Brussels would continue to impose targeted restrictions on the issuance of visas to Russian citizens. His statement came amid an appeal from 11 European countries that expressed concern over the large number of visas issued to Russians.
According to European Commission data published in late May, in 2025, Russians submitted approximately 679,000 applications for Schengen visas, placing Russia among the leading countries in terms of the number of applications, alongside China and Turkey. At the same time, about 630,000 applicants received visas—nearly 17% more than the previous year.
At the same time, the number of multiple-entry Schengen visas issued to Russians fell by more than a fifth. While approximately 224,000 multiple-entry visas were issued in 2024, this figure dropped to 175,800 in 2025.
At the end of 2025, the European Commission also recommended that member states stop issuing new multiple-entry visas to most Russian citizens. Exceptions are provided for certain categories, including close relatives of EU residents and transport sector workers.
