An act in Kiev for Ukraine Day, this Sunday. STRINGER / SPUTNIK / CONTACTOPHO (Europa Press)
The drums of a possible war in Ukraine have prompted the State Department to order non-essential workers and family members of diplomats at the US Embassy in Kiev to leave the country, faced with the threat of an invasion by Russia, which He has been amassing troops on the border between the two former Soviet republics for weeks. In a statement released this Sunday, he also asks the rest of his fellow citizens to consider "the opportunity to leave Ukraine using commercial flights or other private means", given that the Embassy will not be in a position to help them in the event of a attack.
“There are reports suggesting that Russia is planning significant military action.
Security conditions, particularly around the borders, in Russian-occupied Crimea, and in the Moscow-controlled eastern part, are currently unpredictable, and may deteriorate without warning. .
The Embassy in Kiev informed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday of the imminent evacuation.
Ukrainian sources quoted by
The Wall Street Journal
fear that this announcement will send a "dangerous message" to Moscow that the United States is already taking the war for granted.
The State Department lacks estimates of how many US citizens live in Ukraine.
Senior State Department officials told reporters in a briefing call that the decision is not prompted by a specific change in the security situation, but by the "totality" of the Russian military buildup and threatening posture toward Ukraine in recent months.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken met last Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Geneva.
There they agreed to continue diplomatic talks on the crisis with Ukraine and the expansion of NATO.
Blinken promised to send a written response to Moscow's aspirations, which demand that the Atlantic Alliance not expand into Russia and also withdraw from what it considers its sphere of influence.
They were summoned to continue discussing to resolve the greatest crisis that exists right now on the world geopolitical board.
Joe Biden predicted last Wednesday at a press conference, the second he has granted in his first year in the White House, “Russian moves”, which, he added, the United States will not hesitate to receive with “severe sanctions”.
"[If he carries them out] I think [Russian President Vladimir Putin] will regret it," he warned.
Biden met this Saturday at his Camp David residence with members of the national security team to discuss the Russian threat.
Subscribe here to the EL PAÍS América newsletter and receive all the key information on current affairs in the region
