The U.S. government is concerned that the Russian government may retaliate for recent Ukraine-related sanctions by arresting American citizens in Russia and holding them as pawns in the conflict, current and former U.S. officials tell NBC News.
Among the concerns national security officials are discussing is that President Vladimir Putin’s government may target Americans doing business in Russia — such as employees of U.S. companies — if they comply with the new U.S. sanctions.
That could force Americans in the country to make an undesirable choice between violating U.S. law and running afoul of the Russian government.
The Biden administration has started notifying some major businesses with operations in Russia that, depending on how far the situation escalates, Putin could start taking Americans hostage, two people with knowledge of those conversations said.
The urgency to consider pulling employees out has increased now that Russia and the European Union have closed their airspace to each other’s planes, making it far harder to get a flight out of Russia.
“It’s absolutely a plausible concern,” said Evelyn Farkas, the top Pentagon official for Russia during the Obama administration.
It’s unclear whether the Biden administration has a specific reason to believe Putin may take U.S. hostages or is merely anticipating potential worst-case scenarios. But discussions about mitigating the risk for Americans in Russia have involved multiple U.S. national security agencies as well as U.S. Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs Roger Carstens, officials said.
The Russian Embassy in Washington didn’t respond to a request for comment.
There’s a long history of Russia detaining American citizens, often under purported espionage charges, and detaining them for long periods of what the U.S. has described as wrongful imprisonment.
That includes two former U.S. Marines currently held in Russia: Trevor Reed, sentenced in 2020 to nine years in prison on charges of assaulting a police officer, and Paul Whelan, sentenced to 16 years on spying charges. The U.S. has called for the immediate and unconditional release of both Americans.
Former U.S. officials say the United States for decades has harbored particular concerns about American businesses in Russia and their employees, especially at times of high tension between Washington and Moscow.
“This is what will happen: They’ll get arrested on trumped-up charges,” said Marc Polymeropoulos, a former senior CIA officer who oversaw Russia and Europe operations.
“There’s always a concern that Americans doing business in Russia are caught up in the bilateral tensions and can be unjustly imprisoned — sometimes for long periods of time.”
The State Department said concerns about Americans being detained or prevented from leaving Russia are among the reasons the U.S. is currently urging its citizens to consider leaving the country immediately.
In the past, a State Department spokesman said, “Russian security services have arrested U.S. citizens on spurious charges, denied them fair and transparent treatment, and have convicted them in secret trials and/or without presenting evidence.”
The spokesman said that dual U.S.-Russian citizens could also be at risk and that Russia might refuse to give U.S. consular officials prompt access to detained Americans.