On Thursday (January 10), United States President Joe Biden warned Americans in Ukraine to vacate the country over fears of a possible ‘invasion’ by Russia. He made the remarks during a one-on-one interview with Lester Holt of NBC News.
Biden cautioned, “American citizens should leave now. It’s not like we’re dealing with a terrorist organization. We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. It’s a very different situation, and things could go crazy quickly…That’s a world war when America and Russia start shooting at one another.”
“We’re in a very different world than we’ve ever been,” the US President continued. During the interview, Joe Biden claimed to have warned Russian President Vladimir Putin against harming American citizens.
#UPDATE President Biden urges US citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, warns of potential major conflict with Moscow should US and Russian troops engage each other.
— AFP News Agency (@AFP) February 11, 2022
“We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world… things could go crazy quickly,” Biden says on NBC pic.twitter.com/GeiaZEMh5P
It must be mentioned that the US State Department had recently issued an advisory, stating that it cannot evacuate all stranded US citizens from Ukraine if Russia were to invade the country. It informed that regular consulate service will be severely impacted in such a case.
The current situation at the Russia-Ukraine border
There are as many as 100,000 Russian armed forces troops stationed at the Ukrainian border. The United States and NATO have called the military movement around the border unusual. US President and European leaders have repeatedly warned Russia against the possible invasion of Ukraine.
In December, US intelligence reported Russia might begin a military offensive in Ukraine in early 2022. In late 2021, it was revealed via satellite photos that Russia was moving heavy military hardware, including battle tanks, self-propelled guns and more, across a 300 KM long border between Ukraine and Russia.
Notably, the Donetsk and Luhansk regions on the east side of Ukraine have been under Russian-backed separatist groups since 2014. Ukraine claims Russian troops are present in these areas, but Russia has denied it.
Russia has been objecting to the NATO expansion in the area, calling it a threat to its security and sovereignity.
