White House says it won’t rescue civilians in Ukraine, warning Americans to leave in 48 hours

The White House on Friday urged Americans to leave Ukraine within the next 48 hours, citing intelligence which suggests Russian President Vladimir Putin could order an invasion of the country before the conclusion of the Winter Olympics in Beijing.

Speaking at the daily White House press briefing, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said President Joe Biden “will not be putting the lives of our men and women in uniform at risk by sending them into a war zone to rescue people who could have left now but chose not to”.

“We’re asking people to make the responsible choice,” Mr Sullivan added.

The White House warning comes a day after Mr Biden told NBC’s Lester Holt he would not put American troops in a position to exchange shots in anger with Russian soldiers in the event of an invasion.

After telling Mr Holt that US citizens in Ukraine “should leave now,” Mr Biden said the idea that US troops could rescue any Americans trapped in Ukraine in the event of a Russian invasion was unrealistic and completely unlike scenarios some have posited which compare such a hypothetical action to rescue missions mounted in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

“It’s not like we’re dealing with a terrorist organization. We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. It’s a very different situation, and things could go crazy quickly,” Mr Biden said. We’re in a very different world than we’ve ever been”.

Mr Sullivan told reporters that a Russian invasion of Ukraine “could begin at any time” if Russian president Vladimir Putin were to give such an order.

“I will not comment on the details of our intelligence information. but I do want to be clear, it could begin during the Olympics, despite a lot of speculation that it would only happen after the Olympics,” he said.

He added that the “strong” and “distinct possibility of action in a relatively near-term timeframe” is “backed up by our view of what's happening on the ground” and by “information that we continue to acquire, day by day including over the course of the past few days”.

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