The U.S. State Department urged Saturday that all Americans in Russia should immediately leave the country, as foreign policy and military experts access the very dangerous escalation of war in Ukraine. Those U.S. officials also warned Americans that they may have a difficult time getting access to their bank accounts in Russia and may face some forms of harassment as they leave the country, according to news reports. 

Moreover, on Saturday, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that any third party involved in establishing a no-fly zone in Ukraine would be considered a participant in the conflict and subject to actions by Russia’s military. NATO nations voted against a no-fly zone in Ukraine this week, but the European Union and the United States continue to implement stringent sanctions on Moscow. Those sanctions, however, have yet to change any course of action by Putin. Furthermore, on Saturday Ukrainian officials accused Russia of violating the cease fire agreement and reports suggest that attacks continue in Mariupol and Volnovakha.

I spoke with Daniel Hoffman, a Russia expert and three time CIA station chief this week on  The Sara Carter Show podcast, and he stated that Putin’s actions are no surprise to those who have watched him from his time with the KGB and throughout his political career.

“Putin’s escalating,” said Hoffman. “And all you have to do is go back in history and look what he did in Grozny in 99, 2000, where he just leveled Grozny did the same thing in Aleppo, in Syria. That’s the way the Russians do it, you know, in in the United States in our military, and I can tell you this from experience, if we’re trying to kill an al Qaeda guy, that’s what we’re going to do. And we’re going to want to be near certain that that’s the guy we’re killing.”

Hoffman said that’s not the way Russian military is trained because collateral damage is not a detriment.

“We’re not at war with the non-combatants, we don’t want to kill them,” said Hoffman. “Russia is violating, massively violating international law, and the law (of land) war. They’re not showing proportionality. They’re not discriminating between combatants and non combatants. And they are not trying to avoid killing non combatants. In fact, they’re deliberately targeting them. They’re targeting schools and residential areas. And, and that is sad to say, typical of the Russian rules of engagement. And the fact that the media is shining a spotlight on that, you know, look, we’ve got Fox News colleagues out there in Ukraine right now, in harm’s way reporting, God bless them, but it’s a warzone. And we rely on them to report the facts. That’s important.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky slammed NATO Friday  as being  a weak  and “underconfident” organizations for failing to establish the no-fly zone over his country.

Even if NATO refused a no-fly zone there is still much more that can be done to dismantle Putin’s Russian economy and cripple his military operation, said Hoffman.

“As far as cratering Russia’s economy, there’s arguably more we could do,” Hoffman said.

He said that will require other nations, including Europe to stop  buying Russian gas and oil.

“So there’s probably still more we could do,” he said “But Vladimir Putin’s $600 billion rainy day fund is inaccessible to him right now. And in the immediate term, look, sanctions are great, and they’re good long term, you know, targeting the Russian economy and making it clear to Russia’s elites that this is going to carry on, and we’re going to continue to hammer their economy.”

He said Ukraine needs “humanitarian assistance, food, water, and they need military equipment.”

“And we’ve got to find a way to ensure that we continue to do that, as Russia ramps up their attacks,” said Hoffman. “And that’s going to be the challenge for us. All the while ensuring we don’t end up in a kinetic war with Russia. You know, the hallmark of the Cold War was we fought a lot of proxy wars against the Soviet Union, but we never engaged in direct combat. And there’s no question that I think from both Republicans and Democrats would agree that we want to avoid direct contact with with the Russian military, but at the same time, support Ukraine. And that’s, that’s that’s what we’ve got to do.”

This State Department’s guidance to Americans  is stronger than the guidance given Wednesday asking Americans to in the country to consider leaving. The U.S. Embassy in Moscow is also planning to host a virtual town hall for Americans that are still in in Russia this Wednesday.

You can follow Sara A. Carter on Twitter @SaraCarterDC