The United States has issued a warning to its citizens in Russia, asking them to leave the country immediately. The US attributed this to the war in Ukraine and the risk of arbitrary arrests and harassment by Russian law enforcement agencies. Meanwhile, Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service said on Monday, 13th February 2023, that it had received intelligence that the US military was preparing Islamist terrorists to attack targets in Russia and the former Soviet Union.
Due to security complications associated with the escalating crisis in Ukraine, the U.S. Embassy in Moscow is advised Americans to leave Russia “immediately.” The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued a warning against the “unpredictable consequences” of the battle in Ukraine and noted that dual citizens of the United States and Russia in particular stood the possibility of being forcefully conscripted in Russia’s military.
The U.S. Embassy in Moscow said, “U.S. citizens living in or traveling to Russia should leave immediately. Take precautions to avoid the risk of being wrongly detained. Don’t travel to Russia.” The embassy also issued a warning that Americans in general risked being wrongfully detained or subjected to harassment by Russian security forces. However, the Kremlin dismissed appeals for Americans to leave the country as “not new.”
Prior warnings by USA embassy to its citizens
The US has repeatedly warned its citizens to leave Russia. The last such public warning was given in September 2022, when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a partial mobilization of the military. American embassy said at that time, “Russian security services have arrested US citizens on fake charges. USA citizens are being targeted in Russia for detention and persecution. They are being deprived of a fair and transparent legal system. They have been convicted without a secret trial or presenting credible evidence.”
It further said, “Russian authorities have arbitrarily enforced local laws against US citizen religious activists. It has also launched suspected criminal investigations against US citizens engaged in religious activities.” The Federal Security Service said in January 2023 that Russia had opened a criminal case against the US citizen on suspicion of espionage.
Russia accuses the USA of deploying Islamic terrorists
Russia has alleged that the USA is training terrorists to attack Russia. Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (SVR), headed by Sergey Naryshkin – a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, said it had intelligence that 60 such terrorists from Islamic State and Al Qaeda-linked groups have been recruited. They are being trained at an American base in Syria.
SVR said, “They will be tasked with planning and executing terrorist attacks against diplomats, civil servants, law enforcement officials, and armed forces personnel. Special attention is paid to attracting immigrants from Russia’s North Caucasus and Central Asia” It is pertinent to note that the SVR was once part of the powerful Soviet-era intelligence agency KGB. It is led by Sergei Naryshkin. He met CIA Director William Burns in Ankara last year.
