Americans urged to leave Ukraine

The US diplomatic mission in Ukraine’s capital has advised Americans to leave the country, warning that the security situation could deteriorate rapidly.

“The US Embassy urges US citizens to depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so,” the embassy said on its website on Tuesday.

“The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days,” the embassy stated, instructing American nationals to stay vigilant, listen to air raid sirens, and seek cover in case of missile or drone attacks.

“The security situation throughout Ukraine is highly volatile and conditions may deteriorate without warning.”

The Russian Defense Ministry maintains that Russian aircraft only strike military targets in Kiev and elsewhere in Ukraine, such as radar stations, weapons depots, and armored vehicle repair sites.

The State Department evacuated US diplomats from Kiev in February. The embassy in the Ukrainian capital was then formally reopened in May.

Russia sent troops into Ukraine on February 24, citing Kiev’s failure to implement the Minsk agreements, designed to give the regions of Donetsk and Lugansk special status within the Ukrainian state.

The protocols, brokered by Germany and France, were first signed in 2014. Former Ukrainian President Pyotr Poroshenko has since admitted that Kiev’s main goal was to use the ceasefire to buy time and “create powerful armed forces.”

In February 2022, the Kremlin recognized the Donbass republics as independent states and demanded that Ukraine officially declare itself a neutral country that will never join any Western military bloc. Kiev insists the Russian offensive was completely unprovoked.