Ukrainian Border Guard Allegedly Staking The Passport Of A Russian Citizen With Inappropriate Words, The Owners Anti-War

Illustration of the Ukrainian border with Romania. (Wikimedia Commons/Stefan Richter)

JAKARTA - Ukraine's border guard allegedly tasted the passport of a Russian man with the words "Russian warship, go f*** yourself".

Igor Zabotin said he was rejected on the Romania-Ukraine border on August 15, when the stamp with the words marked his passport.

The words were famously spoken by Ukrainian border guards on snake Island, at the start of Russia's invasion in February.

The men drew international attention by swearing and emphatically rejecting the demands of Russian warships to surrender.

Zabotin shared an image of his Russian passport on Facebook, and an undated stamp with Cyrillic's words on the page next to his identity details.

He said the stamp was added to the documents by Ukrainian border forces when he tried to cross the Porubne/Siret checkpoint in the Chernivtsi area of southern Ukraine.

"I left the Ukrainian border after all procedures and before the Romanian customs, I prepared my papers and opened my passport," he told Euronews.

"No one told me anything on the Ukrainian border. Military or customs, I don't know who did it."

In a statement to Euronews, the Ukrainian State Border Service stated they were only using an official stamp to mark passports.

"The samples and procedures to mark the Ukrainian border crossings are approved by a 2019 order by the Ukrainian Interior Ministry," the service said.

"The signing by this authorized official is not regulated by Ukraine's law," they added.

Authorities did not confirm whether they had launched an investigation into the matter.

In another Facebook post, Zabotin said he was initially denied entry to Romania due to visa issues.

"I passed the first (border post) alive and well. The second, (I) was not allowed in, despite all official statements that they would allow third nationals with Ukrainian residence permits and those who were there during the war," he explained.

He further said he was made to 'end the night' between the borders of the two countries.

"Ukrainian customs officers took my passport and told me to spend the night near customs-free shops at their checkpoints," he added on Facebook.

"A Ukrainian border guard came and sent me on a neutral path."

Zabotin told Euronews he had crossed into Romania via another border post with'safe' and was applying for "temporary protection".

Separately, Romanian Border Police told Euronews the stamp was not applied to Zabotin passports by their guards.

"In the event that foreign nationals do not meet the legal requirements to enter the country. The person concerned will not be allowed to enter the country, a form that states the reason for the action and how to appeal," according to a statement.

They also confirmed on Twitter that they did not apply Cyrillic stamps, eliminating misinformation online.

In reference to the issues appearing in the online environment, regarding the application of a stamp with Cyrillic letters in a passport, we make it clear that the we did not apply such a stamp. Regarding the photo attached, we can't determine whether it is real or fake pic.twitter.com/074AamxuzA

— Poliția de Frontieră (@FrontieraRO) August 19, 2022

Zabotin is now working at an internet marketing company, having previously worked in one of Russia's independent media.

He declared himself a move to Ukraine from Barnaul, Russia, in 2015 and has lived there legally for seven years.

After Russia's invasion, he tried to leave the country but said he was trapped between Romania and Ukraine. He also shared anti-war posts on social media, contrary to Russia's claims about Ukraine.

"The fact that I drive through central and western Ukraine with Russian license plates is direct evidence, there is no Nazism here and there is no reason to start this war," he wrote on Facebook.

"There is no Nazism in Ukraine, it never existed and will never exist, no matter how hard the Kremlin's propagandists try," he added.

"I don't blame the Ukrainian border guard service. Maybe they want to send a message to Russian officials," he concluded.