Security conditions in Crimea and along Ukraine’s border with Russia could change “little or not at all” amid heightened tensions and a military build-up in the region, the US embassy in Kiev warned.
The embassy issued the warning on Thursday morning after President Biden abandoned plans to send two warships to the Black Sea, and Russian President Vladimir Putin subsequently closed the Kerch Strait to foreign warships until next fall.
“Attention American citizens”, the warning, posted on Twitter, they started. “The US Embassy in Ukraine continues to monitor the situation with Russia in occupied Crimea and along Ukraine’s borders, where security conditions may change with little or no notice.”
The Biden administration initially said it would send two destroyers – the USS Roosevelt and the USS Donald Cook – to the Black Sea in response to Moscow’s growing military presence near Ukraine.
He later rejected the threat after the Kremlin warned the US to move away from the area “for their own good”.
“We have no desire to be in a growing war with Russia,” a senior government official told reporters at a briefing on Thursday, adding that he did not want the situation to be “out of control.”
The official added that the administration believed it could “avoid” sending the US on a “downward spiral”.
However, government officials said the United States “will not accept the destabilizing behavior that harms the United States, its allies and partners.”
Putin’s closure of the area came hours after Biden declared a national emergency on Thursday, imposing sanctions on more than 30 people in Russia and expelling 10 diplomats.
Biden foresaw sanctions in an appeal to Putin on Tuesday, warning the powerful Russian that “the United States will take strong action to defend its national interests in response to Russia’s actions, such as cyber intrusions and electoral interference.”