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Ukraine has banned all new Russian film releases and expanded the criteria on its ban of earlier Russian films.
Ukraine’s parliament, the Supreme Rada, amended the Ukrainian law to state that the exhibition of all films produced by Russian companies or private individuals after Jan. 1, 2014 are banned.
In accordance with the amendments, all Russian films that “promote activities of law enforcement agencies and the military” are also banned regardless of the production year.
Several dozen Russian films, mostly focused on the Russian military and secret services, were banned in Ukraine, including films featuring Mikhail Porechenkov and Ivan Okhlobystin.
Porechenkov was caught on film firing a machine gun at Ukrainian forces in Donbass, a region controlled by pro-Russian separatists last fall. Okhlobystin also visited the Donbass region and expressed his support for the separatists.
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The Ukrainian Parliament’s move comes just a week after it approved a statement labeling Russia as an “aggressor state.”
The ban comes into effect in April.
Interfax news agency reported that Vyacheslav Telnov, head of the Russian culture ministry’s cinema department said, “At the internet era, actions of that kind make absolutely no sense.”
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