A dozen nations asked their citizens to leave Ukraine amid the Ukraine-Russia crisis. The Western powers have suspected an imminent Russian invasion and therefore, embassies of various countries have ‘geared-up’ for any possible emergency.
The United States, United Kingdom (UK) and Germany also told their nationals to leave Ukraine. Although Moscow has assembled an estimated 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s border, the Russian President, Vladimir Putin denies any intent to invade.
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelemsky stated on Saturday that invasion warnings could stoke panic, which he called “the best friend of our enemies.”
Russia, Ukraine fail to reach breakthrough in talks aimed at ending Donbass conflict
According to White House officials, an invasion from Russia is almost inevitable, and could begin from air bombing. However, Russia characterized such allegations as “provocative speculation”.
America has instructed the non-official staff to leave the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine’s capital Kyiv, and has ordered to suspend consular activities from Sunday. A small consular presence is still to remain in the western city of Lviv “to handle emergencies.”
According to the Canadian media, Canada is also scheduled to move its embassy staff to Lviv, along the border in Poland. United Kingdom (UK) ambassador to Ukraine, Melinda Simmons also tweeted on her official Twitter account that she and a “core team” are staying in Kyiv.
US State Department urges citizens to leave Ukraine amid invasion threat
Russia itself is also making changes, saying it would “optimize the staffing” of its diplomats in Ukraine, citing “possible acts of provocation by the Kyiv regime or third countries.”
As per statements by international news agencies, the U.S. has also ordered some 150 troops to return to U.S. who were training Ukrainian soldiers out of the country, citing an abundance of caution. Dutch media also stated that Dutch airline, KLM, would stop flying to Ukraine, in case of an impending invasion.
Stay tuned to Baaghi TV for more. Download our app for the latest news, updates and interesting content!
