Over the last month, the U.S. State Department has updated or issued new travel advisories for a number of countries.
The Caribbean nation of Trinidad and Tobago got an ominous-sounding warning about “serious risks from crime” and “recent victims of kidnapping” while other countries to get updated warnings include Cuba, the Philippines, Uruguay, the United Kingdom and, amid the recent military action between the two countries, India and Pakistan.
The majority of the new travel warnings provide information about current events rather than changing their ranking on the four-tier system ranging from “exercise normal precautions” to “avoid all travel.”
Since its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Russia has been under the strictest possible advisory reserved for active war zones and authoritarian governments.
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‘No guarantee that a citizen will be afforded consular access’
On May 7, the U.S. State Department updated its page for the country yet again to reiterate that citizens should “not travel to Russia for any reason” in bold lettering.
“The U.S. government has limited ability to help U.S. citizens in Russia, especially outside of Moscow,” the updated advisory reads. “[…] The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has limited ability to assist in the case of a detention of a U.S. citizen. There is no guarantee that a U.S. citizen will be afforded consular access or released before their entire prison sentence is served.”
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While the embassy in Moscow continues some very limited operations, no consulates in other regions of the country have been open since the start of the full-scale war. Amid President Vladimir Putin’s continued defense of the war that caused over 20,000 Ukrainian civilian deaths and more than 300,000 Russian military casualties, diplomatic relations between Russian and the Western countries providing support to Ukraine have also ground to a halt.
All this comes at a time when the Trump administration is increasingly moving toward a Russia rapprochement that has been condemned by the Ukrainian government, European nations and American Democrats. In an April 29 interview with ABC News, Trump told interviewer Terry Moran that Putin “wants peace,” despite a string of attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure just days prior.
The two sides are currently expected to take place in Istanbul on May 15, but Ukraine has repeatedly spoken out against any resolution that concedes territory or justifies the aggression (something that Trump has also pushed for in his effort to claim credit for any ceasefire.)
Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine set off a deadly war and major humanitarian crisis.
Image source: Borodulin/AFP via Getty Images
‘Arrested on false charges, denied fair treatment, convicted’
The State Department’s updated advisory goes against the current administration’s fluctuations and unilaterally states that traveling to Russia poses risks not just of getting caught up in military activities close to the Ukrainian border, but also of getting detained and being held as ransom in any future negotiations with the U.S.
The advisory also warns any travelers in the country to assume that any electronic device they have is being monitored by security services.
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“Russian officials have questioned and threatened U.S. citizens without reason,” the advisory reads further. “Russian security services have arrested U.S. citizens on false charges. They have denied them fair treatment and convicted them without credible evidence.”
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