Eleven of 12 Ukrainian women who participated in an intimate photoshoot have been deported from the United Arab Emirates, Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Oleh Nikolenko said.

"Yesterday evening, the authorities of the UAE deported 11 Ukrainian citizens who were earlier detained in Dubai for participating in an explicit photoshoot. Another Ukrainian woman, who has been diagnosed with COVID-19, will be deported after recovering," Nikolenko told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday.

All the women have been banned from returning to the UAE in the future, he said.

"Thanks to the efforts of the Ukrainian consulate in Dubai, the women were given the mildest possible penalty," Nikolenko said. He mentioned that in addition to deportation, they were facing a large fine and imprisonment for up to six months.

On April 5, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said that 12 Ukrainian women had been detained in the UAE.

Media outlets reported the detention of the Ukrainian women earlier. They were detained following the publication of a video showing the young women posing naked on the balcony of a high-rise building in the Dubai Marina resort district.