Berlin strongly recommends that Germans not travel to Russia

The German Foreign Ministry has tightened travel recommendations for Russia and strongly discouraged citizens from visiting the country, as follows from the updated recommendations on the ministry's website.

Report informs via RBC that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has previously called on citizens to postpone trips to Russia against the backdrop of ongoing hostilities in Ukraine, but the word "urgently" appeared in the recommendations for the first time, Die Zeit notes.

The advice applies to both German citizens and people with dual citizenship. The ministry points to a "continuing deterioration of the situation," including "an increase in arbitrary arrests."

The ministry states that uncoordinated rallies and other actions in Russia may be accompanied by "violent actions by security forces."

"Citizens of Germany and Russia with dual citizenship should take into account that the Russian authorities consider them exclusively as citizens of the Russian Federation. This also applies to the case of possible conscription into the Russian armed forces," the Foreign Ministry said, noting that German embassy officials will not be able to provide citizens with consular protection.

The authorities of other countries, for example, the USA, France, and Bulgaria, also called on their citizens to abstain from traveling to Russia or leave the country after February 2022. The United States, updating its recommendations in February 2023, stated the unpredictable consequences of an armed conflict between Moscow and Kyiv, including the risk of mobilization for Americans with dual citizenship.