US Embassy Tells Americans To Leave Russia To Avoid Draft

The U.S. embassy in Russia is warning dual citizens to leave the country or run the risk of being drafted into the Kremlin’s mobilization effort to wage its invasion of Ukraine.

“On September 21, the Russian government began a mobilization of its citizens to the armed forces in support of its invasion of Ukraine,” the embassy said Tuesday in a security alert. “Russia may refuse to acknowledge dual nationals’ U.S. citizenship, deny their access to U.S. consular assistance, prevent their departure from Russia, and conscript dual nationals for military service.”

The warning comes as Russia has been forced to conscript troops from the general population in order to continue its fight. U.S. officials have estimated that more than 20,000 Russian soldiers have died since the invasion began in February.

“U.S. citizens … should depart Russia immediately while limited commercial travel options remain,” warned the embassy, which said it is severely limited in its ability to help U.S. citizens.

Since Russia declared its mobilization, at least 200,000 Russians have fled the country to avoid conscription, crossing the border into countries including Georgia and Kazakhstan.

The Ukrainian military has made significant gains in recent weeks, recapturing swaths of territory and advancing into the Luhansk and Kherson Oblasts.

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