State Department: Americans should leave Russia

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View of the Moscow Kremlin, the Kremlin Embankment, the Moskva River with ice floes floating on it on a winter evening. Moscow, Russia

The U.S. State Department has warned American citizens to depart Russia, and for those with planned travel to stay out of the country, which is at war with Ukraine and has increased tensions with other neighboring countries.

 Americans who travel to Russia are risking arbitrary arrest or harassment.

“U.S. citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart immediately,” the U.S. Embassy in Moscow wrote. “Exercise increased caution due to the risk of wrongful detentions. Do not travel to Russia.”

The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs told French citizens to depart Belarus, which has close ties with Russia. Moldovan president Maia Sandu just warned the world that she believes Russia is planning a coup d’état in Moldova, with Russian soldiers posing as “opposition protesters.” Moldova borders Ukraine and the government appears fragile.

State Department has put Russia in the Red Level — do not travel.

“Do not travel to Russia due to the unprovoked and unjustified invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces, the potential for harassment against U.S. citizens by Russian government security officials, the singling out of U.S. citizens in Russia by Russian government security officials including for detention, the arbitrary enforcement of local law, limited flights into and out of Russia, the Embassy’s limited ability to assist U.S. citizens in Russia, COVID-19-related restrictions, and terrorism. U.S. citizens residing or travelling in Russia should depart Russia immediately. Exercise increased caution due to wrongful detentions,” the State Department advised Monday morning.

The U.S. government’s ability to provide routine or emergency services to U.S. citizens in Russia is severely limited, particularly in areas far from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, due to Russian government limitations on travel for embassy personnel and staffing, and the ongoing suspension of operations, including consular services, at U.S. consulates.

U.S. credit and debit cards no longer work in Russia and there are reports of cash shortages in the country.

In September, the Russian government mobilized citizens to the armed forces in support of its invasion of Ukraine. Russia may refuse to acknowledge someone’s dual citizenship, deny their access to U.S. consular assistance, subject them to military service, prevent their departure from Russia, and/or conscript them to the front lines, the State Department said.   

“Commercial flight options are extremely limited and are often unavailable on short notice. If you wish to depart Russia, you should make independent arrangements as soon as possible. The U.S. Embassy has severe limitations on its ability to assist U.S. citizens to depart the country and transportation options may suddenly become even more limited. Click here for Information for U.S. Citizens Seeking to Depart Russia,” according to the agency.

It’s unknown how many Americans are left in Russia. Last March, the State Department issued a similar warning to Americans to leave Russia immediately, after Russia had declared war on Ukraine the previous week.

29 COMMENTS

  1. US citizens are not Americans. You are getting 2 very different political statuses mixed up. THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA LIMITED is located in Edinburgh Scotland and the UNITED STATES LTD is in London. These are the offshore parent companies of all the sub-corporations and franchises pretending to be “our governments”. It’s all in their UK government site. So that makes US citizens subjects of the British Monarch.

  2. Like I said with these chinese balloons–they are a ruse and a distraction and also a way to test us (we’re barely making a ‘D’… Something else is brewing and it is NOT going to be good…

  3. Why is our foreign policy and such a mess? Nobody’s supposed to go to Russia because the state department can’t protect us. Even though just a little while ago we traded that gun runner that we had in custody for our dope smoking darling basketball player. That also tell us that we can’t go to Mexico because the cartel and other folks will kidnap us and demand high ransoms from our families. We probably shouldn’t be going to China although that’s probably the safest place we could travel because they don’t put up with bull crap. Travel to Canada and you pretty much put your life in your own hands cuz they aren’t going to do anything for you. Probably safer just to stay in your own backyard unless that backyard is in New York or Chicago or Los Angeles or San Francisco or Portland OR Seattle. If it is in any of those places then God help you because our government can’t or won’t do anything about it.

  4. A real leader would take the lead and work for peace not send tanks, weapons and lord knows what else, this has turned into another proxy war, Ukraine has been and is nothing but a washing machine for corruption and because of a massive cover up we are on the brink of a nuclear exchange, let’s go Brandon, because of them we all suffer.

      • PP, evidently Putin feels the same way as you do, especially in places where mostly Russian People live, why should they be subjected to Victoria Nulands Puppet regime in the Ukraine?
        This isn’t about Nationalism, it is about War and Corruption and the profits that war makes possible, which works well for a few people and misery to all of the other people.

        • I agree 100%. I’ve been railing against this proxy war since before the ground invasion started. “They” don’t call me “Putin’s Puppet” for nothing. I’ve taken to the intended slur as a badge of honor.

  5. What idiot would be there or traveling there anyway? Do you really have to tell people to use common sense? Oh, wait! Only people without common sense would be there.

  6. Added to the “Red Level – Do Not Travel” list tomorrow will be:
    Detroit, Memphis, Baltimore , St Louis, Cleveland & LA.
    Oh! and Alaska, America’s most dangerous State.
    Maybe an armed society isn’t a polite society.
    Maybe we need actual law & order.

  7. Right you are, State, just not by balloon, eh?
    .
    How about all communist Chinese and fellow travellers should leave America… by balloon?
    .
    How about all illegal aliens should leave America… by any old damn way?
    .
    State, this could work!

  8. A long time ago Putin was compromised. CIA officers explained that Putin’s love of certain, very twisted fetishes he has would be kept secret if he only went to work for us.

    So now Putin is doing his level best, at our behest, to destroy his country. The staggering casualty count- well over 150,000 now, the destruction of thousands of tanks, aircraft and other military vehicles is leaving Russia weaker. The Russian economy is in a tailspin, and hundreds of thousands of Russians have fled Mother Russia to avoid being sent to fight in Russia’s cruel invasion of Ukraine.

    Putin, a short little, ugly twerp, from a trash linage is sinking his country.

    A weaker, isolated Russia is the objective as Putin dies of his terminal illness.

  9. I can still get there via Turkey.
    Just remember the Russian collusion bs story, when our so called government slams a new bs story on us.
    I’m thinking it is going to be a whopper of a one.

    • Remember Obama and the hot mic where he says after the next election he will be more free to slip Vlad the tongue or something to that effect? Have you ever got the feeling that it’s our government who is the bad guys? Could all these countries who’ve been fighting us all these years had been right?

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