He said they risk being arrested. It is the second time in five months that he has urged them to leave the country.
“U.S. citizens residing in or traveling to Russia they must leave immediately. Be more cautious due to the risk of undue detentions,” says an alert issued by the US embassy in Moscow.
In the statement, Americans are advised not to travel to Russia “due to the unpredictable consequences of the unprovoked large-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces.”
In addition, the diplomatic mission warned that, in Russia, has a “limited capacity” to provide assistance to its citizens in case they need it.
“The Russian government declared on October 20, 2022 martial law in the border regions with Ukraine, which allows the rapid introduction of restrictive measures”, alerted. Therefore, he insisted that “US citizens should avoid traveling to Russia to work or volunteer for non-governmental organizations or religious organizations.”
Response from Moscow
The Kremlin referred to the embassy statement, saying it was not the first time US citizens have been asked to leave Russia.
“It is not the first time that they have made calls not to visit Russia or to leave Russia. The (US) State Department has done them repeatedly, they are not new”, reacted the spokesman for the Russian Presidency, Dmitri Peskov, in his daily press conference.
is the second This is the time in almost five months that the US embassy has called on its nationals to leave Russia.
On September 28, a week after the partial mobilization ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the US embassy warned that Russia could refuse to recognize US citizenship of people with dual nationality, prevent their access to consular assistance and call them up.
The dangers
Also, the embassy in Moscow warns about “the bullying potential and detention of US citizens due to Russian government security concerns, the arbitrary application of local law, limited flights to and from Russia, the embassy’s limited ability to assist US citizens in Russia, and the possibility of terrorism.”
In addition, he said that “terrorist groups, both transnational and local, and individuals inspired by extremist ideologies continue to plan possible attacks in Russia” and recalled that “travel to the North Caucasus, including Chechnya and Mount Elbrus, is prohibited for US government employees and is strongly discouraged for US citizens.”
The latest public warning of its kind occurred in september after President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization. The Federal Security Service (FSB) stated in January that prosecutors had opened a criminal case against a US citizen on suspicion of espionage.
Last December, the American basketball star Brittney Griner was released in a prisoner exchange, after being sentenced to nine years in a penal colony for possessing vaping cartridges containing cannabis oil -banned in Russia-, after a process court described as a farce by Washington.
Paul Whelan, a former US Marine, is serving a 16-year sentence in a Russian penal colony after being convicted on espionage charges that Washington also calls a hoax.
Source: ANSA and AP
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