The West has imposed sanction after sanction on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine — but it hasn't deterred Vladimir Putin or stopped the destruction of entire cities.
As the death toll from the conflict continues to rise and hundreds of thousands of people remain displaced from their homes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has made a new request of countries that say they support the end of the war.
Zelenskyy has asked Western nations to ban Russian citizens from entering their countries, saying Russians should "live in their own world until they change their philosophy".
Here's what we know about his request to Ukrainian allies.
What does Volodymyr Zelenskyy want?
He's asking for Western nations to essentially ban Russians from entering their countries in the hope it will cause the Russian people to push back against Putin's invasion of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian President told the Washington Post earlier this week that closing borders to Russians was the "most important" sanction countries could impose.
"They’ll understand then. They'll say: 'This [war] has nothing to do with us. The whole population can't be held responsible, can it?' It can," he told the US publication.
"The population picked this government and they’re not fighting it, not arguing with it, not shouting at it.
"Don’t you [Russians] want this isolation? You’re telling the whole world that it must live by your rules. Then go and live there. This is the only way to influence Putin."
Is anyone backing him up?
Estonia announced that it would stop most Russians from entering the country with visas issued by Estonian authorities from next week.
Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said in a statement that visas would also no longer be issued to Russians for work or study, with some limited exceptions.
"We have seen an enormous rise in the number of Russian citizens coming into or passing through Estonia," the statement said.
"The possibility they have to visit Estonia, or other parts of Europe via Estonia, en masse is not in line with the principles of the sanctions we have imposed."
It comes after Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas earlier this week urged her counterparts to "stop issuing tourist visas" to Russians.
"Visiting Europe is a privilege, not a human right," she said in a social media post.
"Time to end tourism from Russia now."
The Prime Minister of Finland, Sanna Marin, told Yle that she also wanted tourism from Russia restricted.
"It is not right that at the same time as Russia is waging an aggressive, brutal war of aggression in Europe, Russians can live a normal life, travel in Europe, be tourists," she told the Finnish publication.
But Ms Marin also told Yle that there were ongoing discussions within governments about the legality of such a ban.
Visiting Fellow at ANU's Centre for European Studies Kyle Wilson said the support of the Finnish and Estonian governments was noteworthy, but it may not go further than that.
"Ukraine is not alone in this: two other countries that feel threatened by Putin's Russia are in solidarity," he said.
"Such a move by the Finns would affect many Russians.
"But other EU members seem to be showing signs of backsliding on sanctions against Russia."
Can they actually ban tourists?
Yes. Latvia has also already made a move on this.
The Latvian embassy in Russia announced just last week that it was indefinitely suspending the approval of Russian citizens' visa applications, unless for the funeral of a relative — effectively cutting off any Russians wanting to enter for holidays, recreation or business.
The Latvian government this week declared Russia a "state sponsor of terrorism" and has urged other countries to do the same, accusing Moscow of using "suffering and intimidation as tools in its attempts to demoralise the Ukrainian people and armed forces to paralyse the functioning of the state".
Russia's Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova dismissed that declaration as "animalistic xenophobia".
Wilson, a former diplomat and intelligence analyst, says people from countries like North Korea, Israel and Cuba had been faced with similar bans from some other nations.
"Under international law, states have the right to deny entry. As John Howard once said notoriously: 'We will decide who comes to this country,'" he says.
"To raise doubts about the possible illegality of such an action seems odd, given that Russia has flouted the most fundamental tenets of international law and the UN Charter by its invasion of another country.
"In these circumstances to question the 'legality' of banning Russian tourists seems to miss the big, tragic picture."
How has Russia responded?
Unsurprisingly, the Kremlin is not a big fan of the idea.
Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed Zelenskyy's calls not long after the Washington Post interview was published.
"Any attempt to isolate Russia or Russians is a process that has no prospects," he said to reporters.
The issue arose just days after Peskov accused Ukrainian negotiators of going "off the radar" — both sides have been blaming each other for a lack of progress for some time.
"As for a meeting between Presidents Putin and Zelenskyy, it is possible only after all the homework has been done by the delegations," Peskov told reporters on Monday.
"This is missing, so there are no necessary prerequisites for the meeting."
ABC/wires
