In this regard, one can talk about the complication of the procedure for crossing the state border, about strategic partnership between two neighboring states (which mostly resembles "hazing" on the Russian side). But there are norms of international law and coexistence of states, according to which Ukraine and Russia build their consular relations. The State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Yuriy Sergeyev and Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Russia Vyacheslav Trubnikov built the next round of Ukrainian-Russian negotiations on border issues on this basis: the participants of the negotiations agreed on the creation and technical arrangement of crossing points on the border, primarily automobile ones, on joint actions to prevent illegal migration and on creating conditions for normal communication between citizens of Ukraine and Russia living in the border zone. And, most importantly, the participants of the negotiations reported that "the date for introducing the regime of travel with foreign passports for citizens of Ukraine and Russia has not yet been determined... The date of January 1, 2004 can be called conditional..."
Both Sergeyev and Trubnikov noted that under any circumstances crossing the Ukrainian-Russian state border will be easy - for those who have the necessary documents, of course, and who do not belong to the category of lawbreakers.
I am not sure that so many Russian guests come to Ukraine who would be dissatisfied with the idea of crossing the border with a foreign passport - likewise, Ukrainians who have to travel to Russia for private or business matters are unlikely to be angry. After all, both Russian and Ukrainian citizens travel to Turkey or Bulgaria for vacations with foreign passports, just as they do on business to European Union states and so on. A foreign passport is the main document of a Ukrainian citizen traveling outside their state.
And in general, according to experts on consular matters, the situation related to the introduction of a visa regime by Poland and Hungary looks much more complicated. There may be more problems than in connection with the introduction of new rules for crossing the Ukrainian-Russian state border. After all, many Ukrainian citizens know from their own experience what the process of obtaining a Schengen or Czech visa is, and how much time and nerves it costs. In comparison, Russia's proposal is a demonstration of the "good consular will" of our northeastern neighbor.