Depardieu 'A Threat To Ukrainian Security'

Gerard Depardieu is reportedly on a blacklist of artists and performers as he is considered a "threat to national security" in Ukraine.

The French actor, who was made a Russian citizen in 2013 , was added to the list because of his ties to Vladimir Putin, Ouest France said, citing Russian newspaper Vesti.

The list of 600 people was drawn up by Ukraine's Ministry of Culture in 2013 and the country's state media are banned from featuring any of their work or mentioning their names.

The ministry has said it intends publicising the list on 3 August.

At this year's Cannes Film Festival, Depardieu said he was shocked at the ongoing civil war in the country and praised Mr Putin, who he said he liked "very much".

"Like anyone, I'm shocked by the situation. I think conflict is a terrible thing," he said.

"I know Vladimir Putin, I like him very much. I go to the USSR a lot, err, Russia," he added, drawing a laugh at a news conference.

The 66-year-old, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his starring role in the 1990 film Cyrano de Bergerac, befriended Mr Putin in 2013 after criticising taxes on top earners in his native France.

According to reports, he angered Ukrainian leaders with comments he made during a speech at a film festival in Latvia in 2014 when he said: "I love Russia and Ukraine; which is part of Russia."

Depardieu has become a frequent face on the Moscow celebrity circuit and is well known in Russia after appearing in several advertising campaigns.

He worked in the country in 2011 on a film about the eccentric Russian monk Grigori Rasputin.