Biden Urges Ukrainians to Leave Immediately

US President Joe Biden urged Americans in Ukraine to leave the country immediately in a TV interview with NBC News. The situation in Ukraine could “go crazy quickly,” Biden said.

The US State Department warns that it will not evacuate civilians in Ukraine if Russia invades the country.

Biden says in the interview that “we are not dealing here with a terrorist organization, but with one of the largest military forces in the world”. According to him, the US military cannot come to the aid of American citizens if they want to flee Ukraine. “It will be a world war if Americans and Russia start shooting at each other,” the president said.

His comments are in line with the revised travel advice from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which since Thursday warned that consular assistance in Ukraine would be “hardly hit” if Russia invades the country. This also makes help with evacuation “impossible”, the ministry reports.

Orange travel advice still applies to Dutch people in Ukraine. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls on Dutch people in Ukraine to ask themselves whether their stay is “really necessary”.