President Joe Biden on Thursday urged Americans in Ukraine to leave the country immediately, warning that “things can get out of hand quickly” in the region.
“American citizens must leave now,” Biden said in an interview that was taped Thursday with NBC News’ Lester Holt.
Referring to Russia, which has amassed troops on its border with Ukraine, Biden said: “It’s not like we’re dealing with a terrorist organization. We are dealing with one of the greatest armies in the world. It’s a very different situation and things can quickly go crazy.”
Biden said during his NBC interview that “there is not” a situation that could prompt him to send US troops to rescue Americans trying to leave Ukraine, adding: “This is a world war when the Americans and Russia start to shoot each other”.
If Russian President Vladimir Putin is “foolish enough to step in, he’s smart enough not to do anything that could negatively impact American citizens,” Biden added.
The White House has approved a plan for the nearly 2,000 American troops in Poland to help Americans who might try to evacuate Ukraine if Russia invades, according to two American officials familiar with the matter.
US forces are currently not authorized to enter Ukraine if war breaks out, and there are no plans for them to conduct a noncombatant evacuation operation similar to the US operation in Afghanistan last summer.
Instead, the current plan is for troops, who are from the 82nd Airborne Division, to start setting up processing areas and temporary shelters inside Poland near the Ukrainian border, where Americans fleeing the country can call for help while are in transit. The facility has not yet been set up, a defense official said, but will begin to do so as more American troops arrive in Poland.
The US State Department on Thursday repeated its warning, saying Americans should not travel to Ukraine “due to increased threats of Russian military action” and urged those in the country to leave immediately.
The statement told US citizens in Ukraine to “be aware that the US government will not be able to evacuate US citizens in the event of Russian military action anywhere in Ukraine.”
In late January, the State Department authorized the departure of non-emergency personnel from the US Embassy in Kiev and ordered family members to leave the country.
The US estimates that Russia has more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, with thousands added this week alone, according to a government official.
Biden is expected to speak to European and NATO leaders on Friday about the buildup of Russian troops near Ukraine, according to a person familiar with the plans.
The joint liaison with the leaders of France, Britain, Italy, Germany and elsewhere comes as Western nations seek diplomatic avenues to defuse the crisis.
Biden spoke on Wednesday with French President Emmanuel Macron about Macron’s diplomatic efforts in Moscow with Putin. And the top US military general, General Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, also reached out to several of his colleagues abroad about the situation this week.
Milley spoke with Lieutenant General Valery Zaluzhny, his Ukrainian counterpart, on Thursday to discuss the security environment in Europe, according to a reading of the call. It was their second conversation this week.
On Thursday, Milley also spoke with his colleague in Belarus for the first time, between two calls to Ukraine.
Russia and Belarus began 10 days of joint military exercises on Thursday amid diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis over fears that Russia is planning an incursion into Ukrainian territory.
Milley tried to “reduce the chances of miscalculation” in his liaison with Belarusian General Viktor Gulevich, according to one reading. Milley also spoke with her British counterpart on Thursday.
Source: CNN Brasil
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