WASHINGTON(Washington Insider Magazine) – President Joe Biden urged Americans in Ukraine to evacuate the nation immediately on Thursday, saying that “things in the area might go wild rapidly.”
“American citizens should leave now,” Biden stated in a forthcoming interview with NBC News’ Lester Holt, which was filmed on Thursday.
We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world, Biden said of Russia, which has deployed soldiers on its border with Ukraine. It’s a whole different circumstance, and things could go crazy quickly.”
During his NBC interview, Biden stated that there is no circumstance that would inspire him to send US soldiers to rescue Americans seeking to flee Ukraine, adding, “That’s a world war when Americans and Russia start shooting at one another.”
According to US sources familiar with the situation, the White House has authorized a plan for the almost 2,000 US troops stationed in Poland to assist Americans who may attempt to flee Ukraine if Russia invades.
If a conflict breaks out, US soldiers are not currently allowed to invade Ukraine, and there are currently no plans for a noncombatant rescue operation similar to the one carried out by the US in Afghanistan last year. Instead, the 82nd Airborne Division troops will begin setting up registration stations and temporary camps inside Poland alongside Ukraine’s boundary where Americans leaving the nation might seek assistance while in transit, according to the current plan. According to one defense official, the shelters have not yet been set up but will begin once more US forces arrive in Poland.
The US State Department reiterated its warning on Thursday, stating that Americans should not fly to Ukraine because of growing Russian military threats and that anyone already there should leave immediately.
The advisory warned American residents in Ukraine that in the case of Russian military intervention anywhere in Ukraine, the US government would be unable to remove them.
The State Department permitted the departure of non-essential workers from the US Embassy in Kyiv in late January and ordered members of the family to leave the country as well.