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Ukrainian City Strips Russian Singer Of Honorary Citizenship


Ukraine's eastern city of Poltava has stripped Russian singer and lawmaker Yosif Kobzon of honorary citizenship.

The Poltava City Council decided on November 25 that the title given to Kobzon in 2002 must be withdrawn because his anti-Ukrainian stance.

Kobzon, who was born in Ukraine's eastern region of Donetsk in 1937, was extremely popular as a singer in Soviet times.

Kobzon, who is also a member of the Russian Duma, has been supportive of Russian President Vladimir Putin's politics towards Ukraine, the annexation of Crimea in March, and the pro-Russian rebels in his native Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

In September, another city in Ukraine's east, Dnipropetrovsk, stripped off Kobzon's honorary citizenship.

Ukraine's Security Service has placed Kobzon on the list of individuals banned from entering the country.

Based on reporting by UNIAN and Interfax

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