President Joe Biden warned Americans in Ukraine to leave immediately, saying that “things could go crazy quickly” if Russia invades the country.
Biden said that American citizens should leave now, because Russia has one of the largest armies in the world and things could go quickly if an invasion were to come.
The warning comes as diplomatic efforts have failed to produce a peaceful resolution.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today on a visit to Australia that there are troubling signs of Russian escalation, and that the invasion could happen anytime. He warned the invasion could even occur during the Olympics. Officials had previously said that Putin would likely wait until the Olympics in Beijing ended to invade Ukraine out of concern and respect for Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Blinken joined his Australian, Japanese and Indian counterparts for a meeting that discussed Indo-Pacific stability in the wake of the Ukraine crisis.
Blinken reiterated Biden’s calls for American citizens to leave Ukraine immediately. He added that the US would keep sizing down its embassy in Kyiv.
Biden is leaving the White House for Camp David this weekend, where he will host a virtual meeting with several other leaders to discuss the escalating Ukraine crisis. Anticipated guests are leaders from the EU, NATO, Canada, the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Poland. They will discuss shared concerns and coordination efforts on both diplomacy and deterrence.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned that the situation in Europe was the most dangerous it has been for a long time.
On Thursday, Russia began a 10-day program of military exercises with its neighbor Belarus. An estimated 30,000 troops were partaking in the exercises, making it Russia’s biggest deployment into Belarus since the Cold War.
The drills come as 130,000 Russian soldiers have amassed on its border with Ukraine, along with tanks, missiles, and even supplies of blood.
Russia has insisted that there are no plans to invade Ukraine.
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