DPR nor ratifying this appointment. On 3 September 2014 deputies of the Dnipropetrovsk City Council deprived Kobzon of the title of "Honorary citizen of Dnipropetrovsk", on 25 November 2014 Poltava City Council removed his title of "Honorary citizen of Poltava", and on 28 January 2015 Kramatorsk City Council removed his title of "Honorary citizen of Kramatorsk." In autumn 2014, Ukraine's national security service banned him from entering the country. Kobzon responded by saying that "he shouldn't need a visa to visit his own homeland and birthplace." He stated that he welcomed any decision by Ukraine's authorities to strip him of honours, as he didn't want to be "an honorary citizen of a country that is run by a fascist regime." He requested that Ukraine also strip him of his People's Artist of Ukraine award. In February 2015, Kobzon was awarded Honorary Citizenship of Yenakiieve in Donetsk Oblast (controlled by the Donetsk People's Republic), and was later awarded the honour of 'People's Artist' by self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic. In February 2015, the European Union added Kobzon to its list of individuals sanctioned with asset freezes and travel bans because he had "visited the so-called Donetsk People's Republic and during his visit made statements supporting separatists"; Kobzon responded that he was "very pleased and grateful." Canada also applied economic sanctions and a travel ban. He was "proud to be included in a list of people who are not indifferent to the fate of internally displaced Russian-speakers in Donbas and the fate of Russia". Russian MPs spoke out in response to the EU sanctions, while Kobzon's fans launched a Twitter campaign in his support. Russia's Foreign Ministry said that the new sanctions defy common sense, referring to the fact that Kobzon was on a humanitarian mission to help innocent people caught in a war zone and that the sanctions were imposed just one day after the Minsk II agreement came into force. The agreement was reached between EU representatives (Germany and France), Ukraine and Russia, and was aimed at resolving the War in Donbas. Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov condemned Kobzon's inclusion on the sanctions list as "vile" and "cynical", questioning the purpose of sanctioning "a highly respected national artist" whose mission in Donbas was "fundamentally humanitarian." A ruling party MP, Vyacheslav Nikonov, spoke in parliament to support Kobzon, stating "We are with you. If they're all Charlie, then we are all Kobzon",