--- description: The State Department warned against travel to Ukraine in response to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine's armed forces and Russian rebels. title: State Department Warns Against Travel To Ukraine image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb30b5817069ee527/6986a18606f2c1c965330823/rtr4495d.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # U.S. Warns Against Ukraine Travel ## Video: Inside The Self Proclaimed 'People's Republic' of Donetsk [Watch (HLS stream): Inside The Self Proclaimed 'People's Republic' of Donetsk](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZfLCqPmB.m3u8) (2:13)  _Published 2014-05-16. Inside The Self Proclaimed 'People's Republic' of Donetsk_  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 29, 2014 9:25 PM CUT  People walk past a building damaged by shelling in Snizhne, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Aug. 29, 2014. People walk past a building damaged by shelling in Snizhne, Donetsk region, Ukraine, Aug. 29, 2014.Maxim Shemetov—Reuters  by [Justin Worland](/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Senior Correspondent Aug 29, 2014 9:25 PM CUT The U.S. State Department warned Americans Friday to avoid traveling to eastern Ukraine, in response to the ongoing conflict between Ukraine’s armed forces and Russia-backed separatists. “The situation in Ukraine is unpredictable and could change quickly,” the statement said. “U.S. citizens throughout Ukraine should avoid large crowds and be prepared to remain indoors and shelter in place for extended periods of time should clashes occur in their vicinity.” The announcement identified the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk, which have been plagued with violent outbreaks for months, as the key areas to avoid. U.S. citizens have been threatened and detained in the region, according to the release. It also advised Americans to “defer all travel to the Crimean Peninsula.” The U.S. announcement comes as the conflict in Ukraine continues to escalate with each passing day. Up to 1,ooo Russian troops appeared to [enter Ukraine](http://edition.cnn.com/2014/08/28/world/europe/ukraine-crisis/index.html "undefined") on Friday, and the Ukrainian government responded by instituting a [mandatory conscription](http://time.com/3218181/ukraine-russia-conscription-invasion-un-security-council/ "undefined"). ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3224441/united-states-ukraine-travel-advisory/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3224441/united-states-ukraine-travel-advisory/"},"headline":"U.S. Warns Against Ukraine Travel","datePublished":"2014-08-29T21:25:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T09:56:32.721Z","description":"Escalating conflict in the region prompted the new travel advisory for Americans","url":"https://time.com/3224441/united-states-ukraine-travel-advisory/","keywords":["Ukraine","russia","Vladimir Putin","Kiev","moscow","United States","State Department"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb30b5817069ee527/6986a18606f2c1c965330823/rtr4495d.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb30b5817069ee527/6986a18606f2c1c965330823/rtr4495d.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"People walk past a building damaged by shelling in Snizhne (Snezhnoye), Donetsk region","caption":"People walk past a building damaged by shelling in Snizhne (Snezhnoye), Donetsk region","creditText":"Maxim Shemetov—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3224441/united-states-ukraine-travel-advisory/","name":"U.S. Warns Against Ukraine Travel"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Inside The Self Proclaimed 'People's Republic' of Donetsk","description":"Inside The Self Proclaimed 'People's Republic' of Donetsk","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/ZfLCqPmB/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-05-16T15:45:10.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/ZfLCqPmB.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3224441/united-states-ukraine-travel-advisory/","duration":"PT2M13S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3224441/united-states-ukraine-travel-advisory/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```