Ukraine APC near boy in Donbass
© REUTERS/ Gleb Garanich
The US Department of State said that the situation in Ukraine is unpredictable, warning Americans against traveling to the regions of the country involved in the armed conflict.

US citizens should avoid traveling to Crimea and eastern Ukraine due to unstable situation in the region, the Department of State said in a press release upon extending the travel warning from June 17, 2016.

"The situation in Ukraine is unpredictable and could change quickly," the release stated on Wednesday. "US citizens throughout Ukraine should avoid large crowds and be prepared to remain indoors should protests or demonstrations escalate."

The State Department noted that the regulation banning US civil aviation from flying in Crimea's Simferopol and eastern Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk areas remains in place.

"The Government of Ukraine has stated that foreigners, including US citizens, who enter Ukraine from Russia through separatist-controlled territory, will not be allowed through checkpoints into government-controlled territory," the release added.

In March 2014, Crimea seceded from Ukraine and rejoined Russia after it held a popular referendum, in which more than 96 percent of voters supported the move. The self-proclaimed Donetsk and Luhansk people's republics were established after independence referendums in May 2014.