President Joe Biden’s administration said Sunday that it can’t guarantee the evacuation of all U.S. citizens from Ukraine as Russia continues to threaten the eastern European country with invasion, setting off new criticism of his leadership.
“Given that the President has said military action by Russia could come at any time, the U.S. government will not be in a position to evacuate U.S. citizens.” Biden’s State Department said, according to Fox News correspondent Jennifer Griffin. “So U.S. citizens, currently present in Ukraine should plan accordingly.”
She added a quote from the State Department: “We’ve authorized the departure of some US government employees, but we have ordered the departure of all family members of US government employees at our Embassy in Kyiv. The State Department has also elevated our travel advisory for Ukraine to level four.”
Several people took to social media to lambast Biden, per the Daily Wire:
- Ben Shapiro, The Daily Wire: “Probably he’ll get everyone out. I mean, it’s not like there are still Americans stuck in Afghanistan or something.”
- John Cooper, Heritage Foundation: “Russia has been massing for weeks, and now the Biden administration is telling Americans stuck in #Ukraine that there’s nothing they can do to get them out. This administration is criminally incompetent.”
- Monica Crowley, former Trump official and Fox News personality: “Biden/Harris still cool with abandoning Americans in war zones.”
- Karol Markowicz, New York Post: “We’re just going to make leaving Americans in war zones an ongoing thing, huh. I remember, in my 20s, arguing with someone that one of the great benefits of being an American was that no matter what, and no matter where, my country was going to come get me. Whoops.”
- Nate Madden, GOP comms: “Holy crap. It’s August all over again.”
The Conservative Brief :
The warning comes after the State Department ordered families of diplomats and staff as well as other non-essential personnel, out of the eastern European nation following a buildup of some 100,000 Russian troops over the past several weeks and talks between Washington, Kyiv, and Moscow has failed to diffuse the situation.
“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. Demonstrations, which have turned violent at times, regularly occur throughout Ukraine, including in Kyiv,” the department said.
“Do not travel to Ukraine due to the increased threats of Russian military action and COVID-19. Exercise increased caution in Ukraine due to crime and civil unrest. Some areas have increased risk,” the department added.
Biden is also considering the deployment of “several thousand U.S. troops, as well as warships and aircraft, to NATO allies in the Baltics and Eastern Europe, an expansion of American military involvement amid mounting fears of a Russian incursion into Ukraine,” The New York Times .
“The move would signal a major pivot for the Biden administration, which up until recently was taking a restrained stance on Ukraine, out of fear of provoking Russia into invading.”
The report said that senior military officials told Biden that he could deploy up to 5,000 U.S. troops to the region with the ability to ramp that number up “tenfold if things deteriorate.” Biden is expected to make a decision as early as this week about what course of action he will take.