Despite the war in Ukraine and EU sanctions, some European countries continue to issue visas to Russians. In 2023, Italy approved the highest number of visa applications from Russian citizens, according to schengen.news. The number of visa applications to Schengen countries from Russian citizens in 2023 decreased by a quarter (24%) after EU sanctions imposed due to the war in Ukraine. Last year, 520,000 visa applications were received from Russians. Of these, 82% were approved. Some countries almost never refused to issue Schengen visas to Russians. In Poland, Iceland, and Slovakia, the approv…