Russia advises its citizens to avoid travel to US, Western nations

Russia warned its citizens on Dec. 11 to avoid travel to the U.S, Canada, and most European Union nations, due to "increasing confrontation" with the U.S., Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said at a news briefing.

The announcement reflects further deterioration of relations between Russia and the West, which have broken down drastically since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Zakharova urged Russians to avoid trips to the U.S., Canada, and most E.U. nations, saying that trips to the U.S. in particular were "fraught with serious risks."

The advisory is due to "the increasing confrontation in Russian-American relations, which are teetering on the verge of rupture due to the fault of Washington," she claimed.

Zakharova also alleged that Russian citizens are at risk of being "hunted" by Western authorities when traveling.

Russian rhetoric against the U.S. escalated further in November, after Washington gave Kyiv approval to attack targets in Russia with long-range U.S. weapons. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov responded on Nov. 19 by threatening the U.S. with allusions to updates in Russia's nuclear doctrine.

Russia has also arrested and imprisoned dozens of U.S. citizens, with many now serving lengthy sentences or awaiting trial. Washington has accused Moscow of orchestrating the arrests as leverage for future prisoner swaps.

Though the U.S. and Russia executed a notable prisoner exchange in August that included Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich,  several U.S. and dual-national detainees remain in Russian custody.

The U.S. State Department also warns U.S. citizens against traveling to Russia due to the ongoing war against Ukraine. Americans in Russia "may face harassment or detention by Russian security officials, arbitrary enforcement of local laws, limited flights into and out of Russia, and the possibility of terrorism," the department warns.

US considering implementing harsher sanctions on Russian oil ahead of Trump’s inauguration, Bloomberg reports

Although no concrete decisions have been made on the potential sanctions, sources familiar with the discussions told Bloomberg that a number of avenues are being explored, including sanctions on Russia’s so-called ‘shadow fleet.’

The Kyiv IndependentDmytro Basmat

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