The United States called on all Americans to leave Russia for safety reasons

The representative of the US National Security Council, John Kirby, called on all US citizens, including journalists, to leave Russia for security reasons.

“Now is not the time for Americans to be in Russia. If you are in Russia – be it for business, leisure, any purpose of the trip – you need to leave now. Russia is not the best place for you, even if you are a working journalist. Russia is now hostile Wednesday for American citizens. And if you’re there, it’s time to leave,” CNN reported Kyrba as saying.

He also stated that the administration of the US president is still working to ensure a meeting with the American journalist Evan Hershkovich, arrested in Russia, who is being held in the “Lefortovo” pre-trial detention center in Moscow.

Earlier, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken called on American citizens in Russia to leave the country. The White House also issued a statement saying that Americans should listen to the administration’s appeals and not travel to Russia.

• On March 30, a court in Moscow sent Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Hershkovich to pretrial detention on charges of espionage. The Russian investigation claims that the journalist collected secret information about one of the enterprises of the military-industrial complex at the behest of the United States. The details of the accusation are not given.
• The White House and the US State Department strongly condemned the arrest of an American journalist in Russia. “The persecution of American citizens by the Russian authorities is unacceptable,” the White House said in a statement. It also contains a condemnation of journalists and free press persecuted in Russia.