4 out of the 5 EU countries bordering Russia are banning Russian tourists, even if they hold visas for the border-free Schengen zone

• Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania are banning Russian tourists.
• From September 19, even Russian tourists who hold Schengen zone visas will be turned away.

As of Monday, four out of the five European Union countries that share borders with Russia have started rejecting Russian tourists — even if they hold visas for the border-free Schengen zone.

The coordinated action from Poland, Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania comes in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and adds to restrictions on the already sanctioned country.

"Russia is an unpredictable and aggressive state. Three-quarters of its citizens support the war. It is unacceptable that people who support the war can freely travel around the world, into Lithuania, the EU," Lithuanian interior minister Agne Bilotaite said Monday, according to the Associated Press. "Such support for hostilities can pose threats to the security of our country and the EU as a whole."

"Russians, do not try to cross the border, you are not welcome here," tweeted Latvian foreign minister Edgars Rinkevics on Friday.

Although the EU already banned Russian flights from its airspace over Moscow's invasion of Ukraine, Russian travelers have been touring countries in the bloc with the border-free Schengen visas by taking circuitous routes to their destinations — or, if their locations allow, by simply driving across the border.

Among the EU countries sharing a border with Russia, only Finland remains open to Russian tourists. Finnish President Sauli Niinisto said last week a ban on visas for Russian tourists could be against the Schengen zone visa agreement, per Reuters. However, the country has started tightening the issuance of visas to Russian tourists.

Last week, the EU also tightened Schengen visa rules for Russian nationals. Fewer than 1 million Russians hold valid visas to the Schengen area, according to the European Commission.

While the bloc has tightened visa issuance, the question of banning Russian tourists has divided the EU. Germany and France — the EU's top two economies — rejected the call for a ban on Russian tourists. In particular, there were concerns about restricting the movement of Russians who want to flee President Vladimir Putin's regime.

"While understanding the concerns of some member states in this context we should not underestimate the transformative power of experiencing life in democratic systems at first hand, especially for future generations," read a Franco-German document seen by Reuters in late August. "Our visa policies should reflect that and continue to allow for people-to-people contacts in the EU with Russian nationals not linked to the Russian government."

Exemptions from the travel ban imposed by the four EU countries include those traveling for humanitarian reasons, family members of EU citizens, Russian dissidents, and serving diplomats, among others, according to a joint statement from the four countries, issued earlier in September.

It's unclear how the four countries will enforce the ban within the Schengen zone — where people can move from one country to another without border checks — should Russian tourists enter from Finland or another EU country.