The US State Department says Washington has no plans to spy on US citizens who volunteer to fight for the US Ukraine in the context of the ongoing Russian offensive. However, the agency warned that such travel could result in US citizens being “arrested or killed”.
“When Americans go overseas, they are not required to register with the State Department in any way, so this is not a metric we will be tracking.” State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters when asked how many Americans had traveled to Ukraine amid calls from Kiev for the participation of “foreign legions”.
Mr Price noted that the US government still advises Americans to avoid going to Ukraine, but the US has no penalties for these people.
The spokesman went on to say that traveling to Ukraine poses a “risk to personal safety” and that US citizens “should be aware that Russia has stated that it intends to treat foreign fighters in Ukraine as ‘soldiers’ or prisoners of war”.
However, Washington expects Moscow to respect all of its obligations and laws of war, Price noted, warning of “the potential for criminal prosecution” and the “high risk of being challenged.” persecution of American volunteers”.
The comments follow reports that about 100 Americans have been screened to join Kiev’s forces after Ukraine publicly asked for foreign volunteers to join the conflict. Citizens of several other countries are also planning to do the same.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that “about 16,000 foreign fighters” were expected to arrive in Ukraine.
Russia is now demanding that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral nation and will never join the US-led NATO military bloc. Kiev insists Russia’s attack is completely unprovoked and denies that it plans to retake the two self-proclaimed republics by force.
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