The U.S. State Department on Sunday urged all family members of embassy employees and all U.S. citizens in Ukraine to depart the country immediately amid the threat of Russia's incursion due to Moscow's buildup of troops on the border.
During a call with reporters on Sunday, a senior State Department official said that the department's official recommendation to U.S. citizens who were currently in Ukraine was to consider leaving the country using commercial or privately available transportation options.
Fleeing Ukraine
The West has, for months, observed an extraordinary deployment and buildup of Russian troops and equipment to its border with Ukraine. The situation has evoked Russia's 2014 annexation of Crimea, which is a peninsula located on the Black Sea. It has sparked international criticism and resulted in a series of sanctions against Moscow.
The seizure of Crimea also resulted in Russia's removal from the Group of 8, commonly called G-8, which is a collective of the eight major global economies. The State Department official who announced the recommendation to leave Ukraine added that the security conditions, especially along Ukraine's border and in Russian-occupied Crimea and eastern Ukraine, were unpredictable and could quickly deteriorate with little to no notice, CNBC reported.
American authorities said that Russian military forces' move anywhere in Ukraine could severely impact the embassy's ability to provide consular services, which include assisting U.S. citizens in departing the country. The State Department made the decision for the recommendation in preparation for the worst-case scenario.
Furthermore, the State Department did not have data on the exact number of Americans currently in Ukraine, arguing that no one was required to register with the embassy while they were there.
The situation comes as Russia has amassed more than 100,000 on Ukraine's border. While the U.S. government is not aware of any intent from Moscow to move, there is sufficient military capability to invade Ukraine at any point in time, CBS News reported.
Russia's Aggression
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Sunday rebuffed calls to immediately impose economic sanctions on Russia. The official argued that the sanctions could undercut the West's ability to deter any potential Russian aggression against Ukraine.
Blinken said that, when it came to talks about sanctions, their purpose was to deter Russia's aggression; and if they were imposed early, the U.S. would lose its deterrent capability. The official added that if a single additional Russian force enters Ukraine in an aggressive manner, it will be enough to trigger the sanctions.
Last week, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that he supported the imposition of the sanctions immediately, a view that was endorsed by Republican legislators on Sunday. "We need to act now. When it comes to pushing back against Russia, we need to show strength and not be in a position of appeasement," said Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, who is a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Aljazeera reported.
On the other hand, Democratic Sen. Chris Coons, an ally of U.S. President Joe Biden, argued for passing bipartisan U.S. legislation. The official, however, said that it was best to keep the strongest sanctions in reserve to deter Moscow.
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