Russia and the US evacuate their embassies in Kyiv.

Kyiv, Feb 12: The United States has taken the extraordinary step of ordering employees at its embassy in Kyiv to depart Ukraine by Sunday amid fears that a Russian invasion is imminent. Russia has followed the US and evacuated its diplomats as well.

 

 

 

Two sources with knowledge of the evacuation plans — including one who provided images of a conversation they had with an embassy employee about the evacuation — said that employees were told Friday morning that they were to pack their bags and prepare to depart Ukraine.

 

 

There was no activity outside the embassy in Kyiv early Saturday when BuzzFeed News visited. But many lights were on in the building, which sits behind a reinforced fence. Security guards patrolled the grounds.

 

 

 

A limited number of diplomats could be relocated to western Ukraine, according to the Associated Press, which first reported news of the embassy pullout. The embassy had previously discussed the possibility of temporarily relocating its staff to western Ukraine, BuzzFeed News reported this week.

 

 

The US Embassy, the State Department, and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said during a press conference on Friday that the US is continuing to draw down the embassy. “We will continue that process. And we’ve also been very clear that any American citizens who remain in Ukraine should leave now,” he said.

 

 

But that option appears to have been ruled out after new intelligence obtained by Washington indicated Russia may invade Ukraine in the coming days.

 

 

“The way [Putin] has built up his forces, and put them in place, along with other indicators that we have collected through intelligence, makes it clear to us there is a very distinct possibility that Russia will choose to act militarily and there is reason to believe that could happen on a reasonably swift timeframe,” national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Friday. “The Russians are in a position to be able to mount a major military action in Ukraine any day now.”

 

 

The Kremlin has denied that it is planning an attack on Ukraine. But in a move that will likely lend credence to the assessments that it is, the Russian Embassy in Kyiv began to evacuate its embassy staff from Ukraine, according to the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.

 

The US embassy evacuation order came down as the White House urged all Americans to leave Ukraine within the next 24 to 48 hours, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin could order the more than 100,000 troops he has positioned around the country to attack “at any time.”