Dr. Alban says he entered Ukraine with Zelensky's help. Border Guard Service says everything was legal
The singer previously performed in occupied Crimea.
Swedish singer Dr. Alban performed in occupied Crimea in July 2017, which led to a ban on entering Ukraine. However, this did not prevent him from appearing on stage during the New Year's performance of the “Evening Quarter” show, which is filmed in Kyiv.
Dr. Alban said on his Instagram that he managed to get into Ukraine with the assistance of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“I met with the Ukrainian president, President Zelensky. I was banned from entering Ukraine because of my previous performance on the Crimean Peninsula. I did not know that Ukrainians did not like it, but in any case I was happy to meet the president.”.
The post was published as early as December 16, but drew public attention after the New Year's edition of “Evening Quarter” was aired.
Meanwhile, Sergei Grishin, editor-in-chief of the Iceland TV channel, pointed out that the entry ban had been lifted long before the New Year's show and Alban's Instagram post. He found a video on YouTube of the singer's performance at the City Day in Kramatorsk on September 21.
Sergei Deyneko, head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, wrote on his Facebook that “he (Dr. Alban — ed.) crossed the state border in accordance with the current legislation, which border guards follow when processing foreigners.”
Deyneko also noted that “no one influences the decision of border guards on whether to allow people through or not, including the President of Ukraine”.
At the same time, after the morning media reports on the topic, Dr. Alban decided to change the text of his post. Initially, in the post, he called Crimea “disputed” or “contested” (“disputed” in the original), and also wrote that he got into Ukraine thanks to “presidential intervention”.
Singer Dr. Alban performed in occupied Crimea in July 2017 at the NEBO Beach club together with the Russian hip-hop group “Malchishnik”.
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