Ukraine bans action star Steven Seagal for posing threat to ‘national security’

Steven Seagal, the action movie star who made a name for himself in the ‘80s and ‘90s, has been banned from the Ukraine for being a threat to national security.

Action movie star Steven Seagal has been banned from entering Ukraine for being a threat to ‘national security’.

Steven Seagal starred in a string of successful movies in the ‘90s.

The Guardian reports that Seagal is the latest in a long list of cultural figures to be banned from Ukraine for having ties to Russia. He will not be allowed into the country for a period of five years, a letter published on the news website Apostrophe says.

According to the letter, these bans are issued when a person has “committed socially dangerous actions … that contradict the interests of maintaining Ukraine’s security.”

In 2016, Russian president Vladimir Putin gave Seagal a Russian passport with the hopes that a “personal relationship will remain and continue.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) shakes hands with US action star Steven Seagal after presenting a Russian passport to him during a meeting at the Kremlin in Moscow on November 25, 2016. (AFP)

Seagal, star of several action film in the ‘80s and ‘90s, is an outspoken fan of Putin’s and the former Soviet Union. According to the Guardian report, he has “eaten carrots with ‘Europe’s last dictator’ Alexander Lukashenko in Belarus, ridden a horse in a suit of armour at the Nomad Games in Kyrgyzstan and taken part in a traditional dance while visiting Chechnya strongman Ramzan Kadyrov.”

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