ATP - The
warning is consistent with previous ones concerning the Ukraine conflict,
reflecting continued uncertainty about the fate of the fragile cease-fire,
which, despite a marked reduction of fighting since September, hasn’t taken
hold fully.
“There
have been multiple casualties due to land mines in areas previously controlled
by separatists, and separatist leaders have made statements indicating their
desire to push the front line to the administrative borders of the Donetsk and
Luhansk oblasts,” the State Department warned, referring to the two
separatist-controlled territories.
The
statement continued: “Individuals, including U.S. citizens, have been
threatened, detained, or kidnapped for hours or days after being stopped at
separatist checkpoints.”
Packed
within the warning, however, is a piece of good news: The cities of Kharkiv and
Odessa (Ukraine’s second and fourth largest cities, respectively) were taken
off the State Department’s latest advisory. A July travel warning included the
two cities.
In
an emailed statement to the Daily Signal, the State Department said it had
“eliminated language urging citizens to exercise extreme vigilance in Odessa
and Kharkiv” after “ongoing assessments of the security situation in those
areas.”
