U.S. President Joe Biden urged Americans in Ukraine on Thursday to leave immediately, stating that conditions could deteriorate rapidly if Russia chose to invade Ukraine. In an interview with NBC, published on their website, Biden said, "American citizens should leave Ukraine now. This is not like dealing with a terrorist organization; we are dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. It is a very different situation and things can go wrong quickly."
During the interview, which NBC has not yet released a video clip of, the president noted that he could not envision a scenario where U.S. forces would intervene in Ukraine to rescue Americans, as this would escalate violence. He stated, "When Americans and Russians start shooting at each other, that’s a world war."
Biden continued, "If Russian President Vladimir Putin is foolish enough to enter Ukraine, he is smart enough not to do anything that would negatively affect American citizens."
It is noteworthy that the U.S. State Department reiterated earlier on Thursday its warning against traveling to Ukraine "due to increasing threats of Russian military action" and urged those present to leave immediately. The State Department warned that Americans in Ukraine "should be aware that the U.S. government will not be able to evacuate American citizens in the event of Russian military action in Ukraine."
