The U.S. Embassy in Russia is urging American citizens to avoid large crowds in Moscow because of plans by “extremists” to target the area.
“The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts, and U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours,” the embassy said.
People are being advised to monitor local media and keep track of their surroundings. The U.S. embassy did not divulge any specific details about the terrorist threat.
Americans have repeatedly been urged by the U.S. embassy to leave Russia because of the ongoing war in Ukraine and the potential for Russia to target and harass U.S. citizens.
“Do not travel to Russia due to the unpredictable consequences of the unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian military forces, the potential for harassment and the singling out of U.S. citizens for detention by Russian government security officials,” the U.S. embassy said in February 2023 ahead of the one year anniversary of the war in Ukraine.
Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, 32, has been in Russian prison for nearly a year after Russian authorities wrongfully detained him for espionage charges for covering the war between Russia and Ukraine. The U.S. government considers Gershkovich to be wrongfully detained and seeks his release alongside imprisoned former Marine Paul Whelan.
The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said Thursday it thwarted an attack by ISIS members on a Jewish synagogue in Moscow, Russian state media reported. The ISIS members opened fire during the attempted arrest and Russian law enforcement returned the favor.
The targeting of Jews in Russia by radical Islamists mirrors the rise of antisemitic incidents and protests across the U.S. since Hamas’s terrorist attack against Israel on October 7th. Russia appears to have aligned itself with Hamas and other Gazan authorities since the Israel-Hamas war began, positioning itself against the U.S. and Israel’s western allies.
Sweden became the 32nd country to enter NATO Thursday two years after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine caused the nation to reconsider its longstanding neutrality policy. Finland, a nation whose border with Russia extends more than 800 miles, joined NATO last year because of Russian aggression towards Ukraine.
The continued growth of NATO is a blow to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has claimed NATO expansion after the Cold War is one of his motivations for waging war against Ukraine.