Governments recommend avoiding travel to Ukraine

It follows the significant build-up of Russian troops on Ukraine’s eastern and northern borders, which has been viewed by members of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has being a potential prelude to the country’s invasion.

Many governments already had longstanding advice against travelling to parts of the Ukraine, including Donetsk, Luhansk and the Crimean peninsula, following the Russian annexation of the regions in 2014.  

Ireland recommends that citizens in Ukraine register with the Kyiv embassy

Irish Minister of State for European Affairs, Thomas Byrne said: “I think it’s very important that they do in case of the outbreak of hostilities and we are advising people not to go to Ukraine at the moment on any non-essential business or travel.”

He also requested that all Irish citizens in the country should register with the Irish embassy in Kyiv, adding that: “We’ve a lot of Irish citizens there, what we’re asking is that Irish citizens register with the embassy. In our experience in situations such as this – whatever number of Irish people we have registered, there’s multiples more who aren’t registered.”

The Latvian government also recommended that travel to Ukraine should be avoided, with Foreign Minister Edgars Rinkevics adding that: “If it is necessary to visit Ukraine, we invite you to register in the consular register of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” The Baltic state has also stated that it is planning to evacuate its embassy staff in Ukraine if necessary.

Norway recommends insurance for essential travel to Ukraine

The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has advised that citizens should refrain from travelling to the country, and recommended that Norwegian nationals currently in Ukraine should follow developments closely and return home if possible.

“If you choose to travel to Ukraine now, we encourage you to make thorough assessments of your own safety and contact your insurance company to ensure that you have valid travel insurance,” the ministry said in a statement.

French nationals have also been advised to refrain from non-essential travelling to Ukraine. A French government spokesperson at also stated that the state was advising ‘increased vigilance’ for citizens in or travelling to the country.

The UK government has offered the same advice to travellers, with the Foreign Office warning that although ‘the situation in Kyiv and other areas outside Donetsk and Luhansk are generally calm … events in Ukraine are fast moving. There is continuing uncertainty about Russian intentions.”

Canada, US and Australia also recommend avoiding non-essential travel

Canada also issued a travel advisory, also saying to ‘avoid non-essential travel’ due to threats of military action, and ‘evaluate whether your presence is essential’ if you are already there.

The US government echoed the sentiment, recommending ‘do not travel to Ukraine’ for the same reasons, and ‘exercise increased caution … due to crime and civil unrest.

Australia repeats the same recommendations, and said that citizens should ‘leave now by commercial means if it is safe to do so’, but warns that ‘flight availability could change or be suspended at short notice.’

It added that “The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has opened a registration portal for Australian citizens in Ukraine to register their whereabouts due to security concerns,” but again cautioned that ‘security conditions can change at short notice’.