Writer Sergei Sidorenko, in an article in the Ukrainian newspaper Yvrobskaya Pravda, pointed out that “Kyiv has so far rejected the request of the new Belgian Foreign Minister Haya Habib to visit the country because of a previous trip to Crimea.” explaining that “Lahbib visited” in 2021 as a journalist the “Universal Values” festival in Sevastopol, adding that the Belgian diplomat “must apologize to Kyiv.”

The writer pointed out that after returning from Crimea, she made statements to Khabib that cast doubt on the belonging of the peninsula to Ukraine, and stressed that after returning to Belgium, she told Khabib that she “entered Crimea illegally” and that he whether she is Crimea Ukrainian or Russian, the journalist evaded answering, remembering her trip to Crimea with the words “I went to Russia.”

Sidornik said that “Lahbib tries to ignore the allegations and describes the trip on social media as ‘part of his journalistic work.’ He added: “According to the law, Ukraine must fine her and ban her from entering for three years. “