US government: Americans should leave Ukraine quickly
Created: 02/11/2022, 20:52
US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a news conference in the White House briefing room.
© Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images via ZUMA Press Wire/dpa
US President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor calls on Americans to leave Ukraine "as soon as possible".
An invasion of Russia could threaten before the end of Olympia.
WASHINGTON - In the face of the conflict with Russia, the US government has urged American citizens in Ukraine to leave the country "as soon as possible".
"We don't know exactly what's going to happen, but the risk is high enough now," US President Joe Biden's national security adviser Jake Sullivan said at the White House on Friday.
"All Americans in Ukraine should leave the country as soon as possible - and certainly within 24 to 48 hours," Sullivan said.
If there is a Russian invasion, there will likely be airstrikes first and then a ground offensive, making it very difficult to leave the country, Sullivan said.
"No one could rely on air, rail or land links after a military operation begins," he said.
In such a case, the US military would not evacuate Americans in Ukraine, Sullivan added.
President Joe Biden had already urged American citizens on Thursday to leave Ukraine immediately.
Invasion feared before the end of the Olympics
Sullivan believes that a Russian invasion of Ukraine before the end of the Winter Olympics in China on February 20 is possible.
"We continue to see signs of a Russian escalation, including new troops arriving at the Ukrainian border," US President Joe Biden's National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said at the White House on Friday.
However, Sullivan made it clear that he was not saying that Putin had made a decision to invade.
"We are in a window of opportunity where an invasion could begin at any time should (Russian President) Vladimir Putin decide to order it," Sullivan said.
"I will not comment on the details of our intelligence information.
But I want to be clear that the invasion could begin during the Olympics, although there is much speculation that it would take place after the Olympics."