Kyiv bans pro-Kremlin performers

KYIV – Ukraine on August 8 named 13 pro-Russian actors and singers whose work would be banned from television and radio broadcasts and from cinemas – including France’s Gerard Depardieu. The blacklist issued by Ukraine’s Ministry of Culture described the 13 as “a threat to national security” for condoning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s annexation of Crimea and his support for pro-Russian separatists in eastern Ukraine. Ministry spokeswoman Daryna Glushchenko said the airwaves ban and the withdrawal of permits for the screening of their films will go into effect in the near future. Mr. Depardieu, a Russian citizen since 2013, angered Kyiv’s pro-Western leadership by striking up a close friendship with Mr. Putin and denying the existence of an independent Ukraine. Last month, Kyiv banned Mr. Depardieu from entering Ukraine for five years. Others on the blacklist include the Russian singer and lawmaker Iosif Kobzon, who is targeted by European sanctions, and the Soviet-era film star Mikhail Boyarsky. (RFE/RL, based on reporting by Agence France-Presse)