White House still refuses to answer questions concerning the number of Americans in Ukraine following Biden’s warning regarding the potential Russian Invasion of the country.
Reports speculated that the Biden Administration is “seemingly unwilling” to disclose the exact number of Americans registered as being in Ukraine.
According to the National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, reporters should ask the U.S. State Department for clarification.
“If you stay, you are assuming risk with no guarantee that there will be any other opportunity to leave and there is no prospect of [a] U.S. military evacuation in the event of a Russian invasion,” Sullivan said.
He also claimed that “If a Russian attack on Ukraine proceeds, it is likely to begin with aerial bombing and missile attacks that could obviously kill civilians without regard to their nationality.”
“A subsequent ground invasion would involve the onslaught of a massive force with virtually no notice,” Sullivan continued. “No one would be able to count on air or rail or road departures once military action got underway.” he continued.
However, when questioned by the press, the State Department didn’t answer, but pointed them toward a January briefing from State Department Press Secretary Ned Price instead.
In the statement that Price released during the briefing, Price said that “We typically don’t provide numbers of U.S. citizens living in or traveling to another country.”
Price also estimated that there are 6,000 – 16,000 U.S. citizens in Ukraine, including American tourists and visitors, according to the report they received from the American embassy in October.
Reports also claimed that everytime time the press asks about the same matter, the Biden Administration “rattles off the same response” claiming that “it’s difficult to track Americans in foreign countries, as regular citizens are not required to register with the U.S. Embassy.”
“What I can do is stand before the world media and send a very clear message to all Americans and to any American who’s in Ukraine. Take advantage of a commercial option to get out.” Sullivan said Friday.
