Ukraine has banned French actor Gerard Depardieu from entering the country for five years, its state security service said on Wednesday, apparently for making comments that suggested he supported Russia’s annexation of Crimea last year. Government spokeswoman Olena Hitlyanska said the 66-year-old, known for films such as Cyrano de Bergerac and Green Card, had been on a blacklist of public figures deemed to be unsympathetic towards Ukraine’s in its conflict with Russia. Depardieu, who is notorious for riotous antics off-screen and scrapes with the law over drink-driving, motorbike accidents and his outspoken criticism of high taxes in France, was granted Russian citizenship by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2013.
