The French government strongly urged its citizens in Belarus, Russia’s ally, to leave immediately on the 13th (local time).
“In the context of Russia’s armed attack on Ukraine and the closure of Belarusian airspace, all travel from Belarus is officially discouraged,” the French Foreign Ministry said in a travel security advisory posted on its website. , leave without delay through the Polish or Latava border roads.”
However, the departure order for Russia was not separately posted.
Belarus is Russia’s ally bordering Ukraine and indirectly helping Russia in the war. During the invasion of Ukraine in February last year, Russia pushed the Russian troops deployed to the Belarus-Ukraine border for joint training into northern Ukraine.
The French government’s departure order comes as the United States urges its citizens to leave Russia immediately.
The U.S. government advised that U.S. nationals living or traveling in Russia in connection with the war in Ukraine should leave the country immediately, saying that they could face unjust arrest and detention.
The US government has advised its citizens to leave Russia several times in connection with the war, and this warning came about five months after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a partial mobilization order in September of last year and a year before the war.
Russia resumed its massive offensive against Ukraine on the 10th. It fired over 100 missiles in one day. The French Foreign Ministry issued a statement at the time, condemning Russia “in the strongest possible language”.
The relaunched major offensive escalated casualties in both Ukraine and Russia. The UK Ministry of Defense has said that over the past two weeks, Russian forces have suffered the highest number of casualties since the start of the war. It was said that the number of casualties per day had quadrupled from last year’s June and July.
Russian forces are stepping up their offensive again ahead of the one-year anniversary of the invasion of Ukraine on the 24th. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said at a press conference on the 13th, “We are seeing that it has already begun” regarding the Russian offensive expected around the spring.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.