Leaders from eight EU countries—Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Finland, Sweden, Germany, and Romania—issued a joint appeal on March 13, 2026, urging European Council President António Costa and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to ban entry into the Schengen Area for former and active Russian military personnel who fought in Ukrainebabel.uabreaking-news.com.uaunited24media.comwww.pravda.com.uawww.eunews.it. Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda announced the letter, emphasizing that such individuals represent "one of the most serious and persistent risks" to EU internal security, potentially fueling organized crime, extremism, or Russia's hybrid warfarewww.lrt.lt.

The signatories highlighted that over 180,000 convicted criminals were released from Russian prisons to join the military in exchange for contracts, heightening fears of their involvement in hostile activities upon entering Europe. They called for urgent EU-level measures, including amendments to the Visa Code, visa refusals, residence permit denials, and long-term entry bans across Schengen, ahead of the European Council meeting on March 19-20. This push builds on earlier efforts, such as Estonia's January 2026 promotion of the idea and its national bans on over 1,000 identified Russian militantsunn.ua.

The initiative reflects growing concerns amid rising Schengen visa issuances to Russians, from 517,000 in 2023 to 541,000 in 2024, despite post-2022 restrictions. EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas has supported similar bans, stating, "We don’t want war criminals and saboteurs walking our streets," while Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský advocates curbing Russian diplomats' free movement. Countries like Lithuania and Estonia are already implementing national restrictions.