美国国务院升级了对在白俄罗斯的美国公民的警告，成千上万的俄罗斯军队聚集在那里进行威胁性的军事演习，现在敦促他们“立即”离开该国
这一严峻的新警告发出之际，美国官员担心俄罗斯对邻国乌克兰的袭击可能在未来几天展开，促使国务院关闭其在首都基辅的大使馆设施，并将其迁至西部城市利沃夫。
白俄罗斯和俄罗斯星期四举行军事演习，将数千名俄罗斯士兵和先进的武器装备带到这个与俄罗斯接壤的内陆国家俄罗斯和乌克兰。白俄罗斯的强人领导人，白俄罗斯总统亚历山大·卢卡申科，在镇压政治反对派、在欧洲煽动移民危机并面临西方严厉制裁后，越来越接近俄罗斯总统弗拉基米尔·普京。
美国国务院已经敦促美国公民“不要前往白俄罗斯”，因为白俄罗斯国内的镇压和“任意执法”和拘留的风险，以及新冠肺炎。
但在周一晚间的一份新的咨询报告中，该机构补充了一项关于“俄罗斯在白俄罗斯与乌克兰边境的不寻常和令人担忧的军事集结”的警告，并补充道，“在白俄罗斯的美国公民应立即通过商业或私人方式离开。"
咨询称，“局势不可预测，该地区的紧张局势加剧”，这反映了美国驻乌克兰大使馆越来越紧迫的语气，该大使馆周六敦促美国人也“立即离开”。
警告还指出，“由于白俄罗斯政府对美国大使馆人员配置的限制，美国政府向在白俄罗斯的美国公民提供例行或紧急服务的能力已经受到严重限制。”
白俄罗斯首都明斯克的大使馆此前曾下令家属于1月31日离境，目前仍有极少数美国外交官留在该国。
俄罗斯国防部/法新社通过盖蒂图像
这是俄罗斯国防部2022年2月9日发布的讲义视频截图..
此外，美国国务院敦促美国人“立即离开”德涅斯特河左岸，这是摩尔多瓦的一部分，摩尔多瓦是乌克兰西南边境的内陆国家。
这一紧急警告并不适用于整个国家，而仅适用于德涅斯特河左岸地区，这是一个未被承认的分离地区，俄罗斯违背摩尔多瓦政府的意愿，将军队作为“维和人员”驻扎在那里，类似于俄罗斯军队驻扎在格鲁吉亚的两个有争议的地区，即前苏联的小共和国。
和白俄罗斯一样，摩尔多瓦也曾因新冠肺炎而被列入美国国务院的4级“不要旅行”名单，但现在在其新的建议中，它警告称，“乌克兰周围的俄罗斯军事活动不寻常且令人担忧，德涅斯特河左岸地区和中央政府之间的冲突尚未解决;德涅斯特河左岸的美国公民应该立即离开。”
包括美国国务卿安东尼·布林肯在内的美国官员在当前的危机中多次提到德涅斯特河左岸，认为这是近年来俄罗斯与格鲁吉亚和乌克兰一起侵略该地区的又一个例子。
乌克兰官员上个月走得更远。其国防情报局表示，有证据表明，俄罗斯正计划对其在德涅斯特河左岸的士兵进行虚假的国旗挑衅，以证明入侵乌克兰是正当的——俄罗斯政府否认了这一指控。
拜登政府已经表示不会使用美国军方如果该地区爆发战争，帮助疏散美国公民——阿富汗的记忆笼罩着他们。那次历史性的混乱行动最终疏散了约12.4万人，但美国国务院明确表示这不是先例。
相反，美国对乌克兰以及现在的白俄罗斯和德涅斯特河左岸的美国私人发出了越来越可怕的警告，要求他们在商业航班或陆路边境通道可用时立即离开。
US urges Americans in Belarus, part of Moldova to leave now amid Russian threat
The State Department has escalated its warning to U.S. citizens in Belarus, where thousands of Russian troops have massed for menacing military exercises -- now urging them to leave the country "immediately."
The stark new warning comes as U.S. officials fear a possibleRussian attack on neighboring Ukrainecould unfold in the coming days, prompting the State Department to shutter its embassy facility in the capital Kyiv and relocate them to the western city Lviv.
Belarus and Russia launched military exercises Thursday, bringing thousands of Russian troops and advanced weaponry and equipment to the landlocked country that bordersboth Russia and Ukraine. Its strongman leader, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko, has drawn increasingly closer to Russian President Vladimir Putin after cracking down on political opposition, fomenting a migrant crisis in Europe and facing tough Western sanctions.
The State Department had already urged American citizens "do not travel to Belarus" because of that domestic crackdown and the risk of "arbitrary enforcement of laws" and detention, as well as COVID-19.
But in a new advisory Monday evening, it added a warning about the "unusual and concerning Russian military buildup along Belarus’ border with Ukraine" and added, "U.S. citizens in Belarus should depart immediately via commercial or private means."
The "situation is unpredictable, and there is heightened tension in the region," the advisory states, mirroring the increasingly urgent tone from the U.S. embassy in Ukraine, which urged Americans on Saturday to "depart immediately" as well.
The warning also noted, "The U.S. government’s ability to provide routine or emergency services to U.S. citizens in Belarus is already severely limited due to Belarusian government limitations on U.S. Embassy staffing."
The embassy in Minsk, the capital of Belarus, had previously ordered the departure of family members on Jan. 31, with a very small group of U.S. diplomats still in the country.
In addition, the State Department is urging Americans to "depart immediately" from Transnistria, which is part of Moldova -- the landlocked country on Ukraine's southwestern border.
The urgent warning doesn't apply to the entire country, but just to Transnistria, an unrecognized breakaway region where Russia has stationed troops against the Moldovan government's will as "peacekeepers," similar to Russian troops in two disputed regions of Georgia, the small former Soviet republic.
Like Belarus, Moldova had been on the State Department's Level 4: "Do Not Travel" list because of COVID-19, but now in its new advisory, it warns of the "unusual and concerning Russian military activity around Ukraine, and the unresolved conflict between the breakaway region of Transnistria and the central government; U.S. citizens in Transnistria should depart immediately."
U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have repeatedly referenced Transnistria during the current crisis as another example of Russia's aggression in the region in recent years, along with Georgia and Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials went even further last month. Its defense intelligence agency said it had evidence that Russia was planning a false flag provocation against its own soldiers in Transnistria to justify an invasion of Ukraine -- an accusation the Russian government denied.
The Biden administration has said it will not usethe U.S. militaryto help evacuate American citizens if war breaks out in the region -- with the memory of Afghanistan hanging over them. That historic, chaotic operation ultimately evacuated some 124,000 people, but the State Department has made clear it was not a precedent.
Instead, the U.S. has used increasingly dire warnings to private Americans in Ukraine and now Belarus and Transnistria to leave now while commercial flight options or land border crossings are available.
