Russia issued a warning on Wednesday saying that diplomatic relations with the United States had become so confrontational that Russian nationals should avoid travelling to the US, Canada and a few EU nations because they can be at risk of being “hunted” down by US authorities.
According to Maria Zakharova, the Russian foreign ministry spokesperson, bilateral relations with the US were teetering on the verge of rupture.
“In the context of the increasing confrontation in Russian-American relations, which are teetering on the verge of rupture due to the fault of Washington, trips to the United States of America privately or out of official necessity are fraught with serious risks,” Zakharova said during a news conference.
She advised, “We urge you to continue to refrain from trips to the United States of America and its allied satellite states, including, first of all, Canada and, with a few exceptions, European Union countries, during these holidays.”
Diplomatic representatives from both nations acknowledge that current relations are at their lowest point since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962, primarily due to conflicts regarding the Ukraine war.
The situation deteriorated further last month when Ukraine employed US and British missiles to attack Russian territory, prompting Russia to lower its nuclear response threshold.
Both nations are engaged in mutual accusations of wrongfully detaining their respective citizens on baseless charges.