US Citizens Urged to Leave Russia

The White House National Security Council’s Coordinator for Strategic Communications, John Kirby, has urged US citizens to leave Russia, regardless of the purpose of their travel and activities. Kirby stated that this is not the time for US citizens to be in Russia. “Russia is not a good place for you, even if you are a journalist,” Kirby said in an interview with CNN.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden had called on Russian authorities to release Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested in Russia on March 30 on espionage charges. The Russian side claims that he was “collecting secret information about one of Russia’s defense industrial enterprises.” The journalist faces up to 20 years in prison.

Media outlets, citing their sources, report that the American journalist was actually traveling to Yekaterinburg to investigate how the Wagner private military company recruits local residents to fight in Ukraine.