The withdrawal of non-essential diplomatic personnel adds to Washington’s call for its citizens to leave Ukraine in the face of a possible Russian invasion. The US stresses that it will not be able to evacuate its nationals in the event of a military action from Moscow.
The United States ordered the departure of most of its diplomatic employees from Ukraine due to the threat of an imminent Russian attack against that country, the US Embassy in Kiev reported.
“On February 12 (today), the Department of State ordered the departure of most of the direct hire American employees of the Embassy of Kiev due to the continuing threat of Russian military action.”the legation noted in a new travel alert for Ukraine.
The Embassy stated in a tweet that these are “non-emergency” personnel, that is, non-essential, and that the legation is evacuated due to the accumulation of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, which generates “potential for important military action”.
He also indicated that, as a result of this measure as of this Sunday “Consular services will be suspended at the US Embassy in Kiev.
“The Embassy will maintain a small consular presence in Lviv (in the west of the country) to handle emergencies, but will not be able to provide passports, visas or regular consular services,” the legation noted.
U.S urged its citizens this Friday to leave Ukraine in the next 24 to 48 hours due to the “imminent” risk of a possible Russian invasionwhich in his opinion could start with “air strikes and missile attacks” and could even take place next week.
“US citizens should not travel to Ukraine, and those in Ukraine should depart immediately using commercial or other available private transportation options,” the Embassy said today.
On January 23, the State Department had already authorized the voluntary departure of direct contract employees from the US and ordered the departure of their relatives.
Security conditions, particularly along Ukraine’s borders, in Russian-occupied Crimea, and in Russian-controlled eastern Ukraine, are unpredictable and may deteriorate without warning.
Washington further reiterated that will not be able to help Americans who remain in Ukraine in the event of a Russian invasion.
“US citizens in Ukraine should know that the US government will not be able to evacuate US citizens in the event of Russian military action anywhere in Ukraine. Military action can begin at any time and without notice and would also severely affect the Embassy’s ability to provide consular services, including assistance to US citizens leaving Ukraine,” he states in the notice.
The United Kingdom, Norway and Denmark also asked their citizens to leave Ukraine on Friday. while there are still commercial means available to do so, while Spain assured that it has prepared the evacuation device for Spaniards in case it had to be activated.
The European Union (EU) in turn has decided to allow “non-essential” staff from its diplomatic representation in Kiev to leave Ukraine.