Another country is warning citizens about travel to the US

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin authorized the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and set off a brutal war that is now nearing its fourth year, the U.S. State Department has kept Russia under the "level four" travel advisory that tells citizens to not go to the country for any reason.

"Russia's war in Ukraine has destabilized security in southwestern Russia," the advisory most recently updated in May 2025 reads. "[...] Russian authorities have questioned, detained, and arrested people for 'acting against Russia's interests.' Local authorities have targeted people for posting on social media or supporting 'anti-Russian' groups. They have punished people for criticizing the government or military."

Belarus, whose President Alexander Lukashenko helped Russia facilitate the war by allowing troops and weapons to pass through its territory, is under the same travel advisory, while Ukraine is under "level four" as an active war zone.

Russian travel advisory warns of "vicious practices" in the U.S.

Justifying the invasion with false claims of historic right to Ukrainian territory, the Russian government has responded to Western sanctions with similar travel advisories about the "dangers" of traveling to the United States and countries making up the EU.

Most recently, the country's Foreign Ministry issued a travel advisory about what it classifies as "vicious practices" of the U.S. law enforcement. It drew attention to several cases in which several Russian women were separated from their children when trying to enter the U.S. amid lack of legal status.

Related: Ukrainian airline starts flying for first time since invasion

The advisory tells Russian citizens to carefully consider travel to the U.S. in terms of legality of being present in the country (the U.S. embassy in Russia has stopped issuing all but diplomatic visas in 2022 due to the war). It highlighted uncertainty of status in custody cases in particular.

The tone portraying the United States as a hostile and dangerous country highlights the state of geopolitical relations as the Russian government continues to justify the invasion and attack Ukraine.

The American advisory in place since 2022, in turn, draws attention to the fact that the Russian government may be hostile to foreigners and American citizens in particular.

"Drone attacks and explosions near the border with Ukraine": U.S. travel advisory

The U.S. advisory, in turn, highlights that the ongoing war has moved toward Russian territory and so "drone attacks and explosions near the border with Ukraine, and in Moscow, Kazan, St. Petersburg" pose another risk to any citizens who find themselves in the area.

A number of regions are also under martial law, which, according to the State Department, means "authorities can set curfews, seize property, restrict movement, detain foreigners, [and] forcibly relocate residents."

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"The international community does not recognize Russia’s annexation of Crimea, Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhya," the advisory reads, referencing the Ukrainian territories that Russia has tried to claim as its own.

"Russia staged its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, in part, from occupied Crimea. There is a heavy Russian military presence in these areas and intense fighting across these regions."

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