U.S. Embassy tells Americans in Russia to “have evacuation plans”

The U.S. Embassy in Russia has warned Americans in the country “avoid crowds” and “have evacuation plans” to leave Russia, citing media reports of “threats of attacks.”

The advice marks a further deterioration of US-Russia relations in what some observers are already calling a new Cold War.

A security alert posted on the embassy’s website on Sunday read: “According to media sources, there have been threats of attacks against shopping centers, railway and metro stations, and other public gathering places in major urban areas, including Moscow and St. Petersburg as well as in areas of heightened tension along the Russian border with Ukraine.”