State Department issues travel warning for Ukraine, as staff at embassy is reduced

Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to U.S. Embassy staff in Kyiv.
(Image credit: Alex Brandon/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)

The State Department issued a "do not travel" advisory for Ukraine on Sunday night, cautioning Americans to steer clear of the country "due to the increased threats of Russian military action and COVID-19."

Over the last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been moving tens of thousands of troops to the border with Ukraine, and the U.S. has warned that an invasion could be imminent. In the travel advisory, the State Department said the "security conditions, particularly along Ukraine's borders, in Russia-occupied Crimea, and in Russia-controlled eastern Ukraine, are unpredictable and can deteriorate with little notice."

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Catherine Garcia, The Week US

Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.