The U.S. Embassy in Russia warned U.S. citizens on Thursday to avoid large gatherings due to concerns that “extremists have imminent plans” to target large gatherings in Moscow this weekend.
“The Embassy is monitoring reports that extremists have imminent plans to target large gatherings in Moscow, to include concerts,” it said in a security alert. “U.S. citizens should be advised to avoid large gatherings over the next 48 hours.”
It did not provide any additional information.
Earlier on Thursday, the Russian Federal Security Service, commonly known as the FSB, said it prevented an armed attack at a Moscow synagogue by members of the Islamic State.
“On the territory of the Kaluga Region, a stop was put to the activity of Wilayat Khorasan, a cell of the Afghan branch of the international terrorist organization Islamic State, which is banned in Russia, whose members were planning to commit a terrorist act against one of the Jewish religious institutions in Moscow,” the agency said in a statement.
It’s unclear if the foiled attack is related to the embassy’s alert.
The State Department has urged Americans not to travel to Russia since it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
The State Department has travel advisory levels to help Americans determine where is safe to travel. Russia is listed as a level four, “do not travel” country. Last September, the agency warned U.S. citizens not to travel to Russia due to the “unpredictable consequences of the unprovoked full-scale invasion of Ukraine,” and warned about the “risk of wrongful detentions.”
Multiple Americans are considered wrongfully detained in Russia, which is a designation given by the State Department.
President Joe Biden referenced two of them, Paul Whelan and Evan Gershkovich, during his State of the Union address Thursday night.
“We will also work around the clock to bring home Evan and Paul, Americans being unjustly detained all around the world,” the president said.
Both have been accused of espionage, though the U.S. has dismissed those charges. Whelan was sentenced to 16 years in prison in 2020, while Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter, was arrested on the same charges last year.
Biden also stressed the need for Congress to pass his supplemental funding request that includes tens of billions of dollars of military aid. The Pentagon has not been able to provide Ukraine with military aid since late December 2023 due to House Republicans’ refusal to pass it despite getting Democratic concessions on border security.
“Overseas, Putin of Russia is on the march, invading Ukraine and sowing chaos throughout Europe and beyond. If anybody in this room thinks Putin will stop at Ukraine, I assure you, he will not,” the president said. “But Ukraine can stop Putin if we stand with Ukraine and provide the weapons it needs to defend itself. That is all Ukraine is asking. They are not asking for American soldiers. In fact, there are no American soldiers at war in Ukraine. And I am determined to keep it that way.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
At the beginning of his address, the president compared the moment, with Russia making gains in Ukraine due to Congress’s inaction, to President Franklin Roosevelt’s State of the Union in 1941. The comparison drew the ire of Kremlin Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev.
“Biden, on the other hand, is a mad, mentally disabled individual who set his mind on dragging humanity to hell,” he said. “Second, Roosevelt together with allies including the USSR, was fighting for peace; yet, Biden is actively and persistently trying to start WWIII. Third, Roosevelt was fighting against fascists, but Biden is fighting for them. He is the United States’ disgrace!”
