Biden says it would be wise to leave Ukraine amid threat from Russia
President Joe Biden on Monday advised Americans who are in Ukraine to leave the country, citing the risk of violence in the case of a Russian invasion.
“I think it would be wise to leave the country,” Biden said, clarifying he was not referring to U.S. diplomatic staff.
“I would hate to see them get caught in a cross-fire if in fact [Russia] did invade. And there’s no need for that, and if I had anyone there I’d say leave,” Biden added.
Biden’s comments came during a joint press conference with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday.
The U.S. officials have warned for weeks of the threat of a Russian invasion into Ukraine as Moscow has amassed nearly 100,000 troops on the Ukrainian border.
Biden has ruled out dispatching the U.S. troops to fight in Ukraine but has deployed 3,000 U.S. troops to Romania and Poland to bolster support to European states and sent $500 million in military assistance to the Kyiv.
