KIEV, Ukraine

Ukraine's Security Service said it has imposed a ban on ex-Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev from entering Ukraine for five years.

Ukraine's Security Service spokeswoman Elena Gitlyanskaya announced on her Facebook page Thursday that Gorbachev has been banned from entering Ukraine because of his support to the annexation of Crimea by Russia.

"We have banned Gorbachev from entering Ukraine for five years because of his support to the annexation of Crimea and to preserve national security benefits," Gitlyanskaya wrote.

The former Soviet leader, in an interview he gave to the Sunday Times dated May 22, 2016, said "unification" of Sevastopol and Crimea with the Russian Federation was "the right decision".