Russian-led separatists continue to control areas in the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, where violent clashes have resulted in over 9,000 deaths.  A ceasefire agreement established a de facto dividing line between Ukrainian government-controlled and non-government controlled areas of Ukraine, with a limited number of operational checkpoints controlled by government and Russian-led separatist forces. There have been multiple casualties due to land mines in areas previously controlled by the Russian-led separatists, and both sides of the contact line are mined.  So-called “separatist leaders” have made statements indicating their desire to push the contact line to the administrative borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts.  Artillery and rocket attacks near the line of contact continue to occur regularly. Individuals, including U.S. citizens, have been threatened, detained, or kidnapped for hours or days after being stopped at separatist checkpoints, and one U.S. citizen working for OSCE’s Special Monitoring Mission to Ukraine was killed inside the non-government controlled area of Luhansk.  The Government of Ukraine has stated that foreigners, including U.S. citizens, who enter Ukraine from Russia through non-government controlled territory, will not be allowed through checkpoints into government-controlled territory.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) prohibits U.S. civil aviation from flying in the Ukrainian Simferopol (UKFV) and Dnipropetrovsk (UKDV) Flight Information Regions.  For further background information regarding FAA flight advisories and prohibitions for U.S. civil aviation, U.S. citizens should consult Federal Aviation Administration’s Prohibitions, Restrictions and Notices.

The situation in Ukraine is unpredictable and could change quickly.  U.S. citizens throughout Ukraine should avoid large crowds and be prepared to remain indoors should protests or demonstrations escalate.

U.S. Embassy Kyiv’s Consular Section is open for all public services; however, in light of the ongoing unrest, the Embassy has severely restricted the travel of U.S. government personnel to Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts and Crimea, and occasionally limits travel to adjacent regions.  As a result, the Embassy’s ability to provide consular services, including responding to emergencies, to U.S. citizens in eastern Ukraine and Ukraine’s Crimean region is extremely limited.

For further security information in Ukraine:

• See the State Department’s travel website for the Worldwide Caution, Travel Warnings, Travel Alerts, and Ukraine Country Specific Information.
• Enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security messages and make it easier to locate you in an emergency.
• Contact the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine, located at 4 A.I Sikorsky Street (formerly Tankova) at +380-44-521-5566, or e-mail KyivACS@state.gov 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. After-hours emergency number for U.S. citizens is +380-44-521-5000.
• Call 1-888-407-4747 toll-free in the United States and Canada, and 1-202-501-4444 from other countries. These numbers are available from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, Monday through Friday (except U.S. federal holidays).
• Follow us on Twitter and Facebook.
• For Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) constituents, more information can be found here.