The United States on Monday told the relatives of its diplomats in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv to leave the nation. The US said that the ‘continued threat’ of a Russian invasion was the reason behind this announcement.
The US state department told citizens that it has authorised voluntary departure of its non-essential staff from the embassies. It asked its citizens to evacuate the former Soviet nation as early as possible saying that it might not be able to do so once there is an incursion from Moscow.
“There are reports Russia is planning significant military action against Ukraine. The security conditions, particularly along Ukraine’s borders, in Russia-occupied Crimea, and in Russia-controlled eastern Ukraine, are unpredictable and can deteriorate with little notice. Demonstrations, which have turned violent at times, regularly occur throughout Ukraine, including in Kyiv,’ the travel advisory said.
A report from news agency AFP said that the US is still keeping its embassy open in Kyiv. The charge d’affaires Kristina Kvien is currently in Ukraine, people familiar with the developments told AFP.
The US earlier on Saturday expressed its ‘firm commitment to Ukraine’s sovereign right to self-defence’ as it sent 90 tonnes of US “lethal aid” to Ukraine. The US said that the shipment was to bolster the strength of Ukraine’s ‘front-line defenders’ at the event of a Russian incursion.
The shipment came hours after US secretary of state Antony Blinken and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov held ‘frank’ talks about easing the situation across the Ukrainian and Russian border.
Russia, however, continued to deny any plans of possible invasion. It still demands that Ukraine and other former Soviet nations not become a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and demanded that NATO stop sending weapons to Ukraine citing that such moves could destabilise the situation in the region.
Tensions however continued to increase in eastern Ukraine where Russia is backing pro-Russian rebels in the Luhansk and Donetsk regions. It earlier annexed Crimea in 2014 after Ukrainians ousted Viktor Yanukovych – a pro-Moscow leader in 2014. In the following years at least 14,000 people have died in the clashes between the forces of both nations.
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