This would be more impactful if 3/4 of the world wasn't already at "Level 4: Do Not Travel". As it is, it signals that Ukraine is as dangerous as such countries as Australia, Canada, France, The United Kingdom, Norway, and Sweden each of which is also listed as Do Not Travel. You will definitely me much saver traveling to Libya, Mexico, Pakistan, or Madagascar (Level 2: Reconsider Travel) than to any of those places...
As much as I would like for them to be, I'm not sure that Department of State travel advisories are a useful indicator of traveler safety at this time.
To be clear, I'm not saying this warning isn't serious, just that the system has been abused to the point it's harder to signal urgency.
I'm not saying that it isn't dangerous. I'm saying that the 'levels' system seems to be broken. When "imminent danger of becoming an active war zone" is at the same level as "health risks similar to traveling domestically" the 'levels' no longer communicate much of use.
This alert is dated today (10 Feb 2022). It would be interesting to know what new information promoted this warning, rather than issuing it sometime over the past two weeks.
Russia is "starting" major military drills coordinated across Belarus, Russia, and naval assets in the black sea.
Either Russia is doing a great job convincing the US that they are planning to invade, or they will start invading. If Russia simply wanted to extract a deal from Ukraine, having the US shout that an invasion is imminent probably helps.
As much as I would like for them to be, I'm not sure that Department of State travel advisories are a useful indicator of traveler safety at this time.
To be clear, I'm not saying this warning isn't serious, just that the system has been abused to the point it's harder to signal urgency.