The United States has begun the process to “temporarily relocate” its embassy in Ukraine, which will cease its operations in the capital, Kiev, and will move to the largest city in the west of the country, Lviv, located about 70 kilometers from the border with Poland. .
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, explained in a statement that he had ordered this measure out of “prudence” and to guarantee “the safety of his staff”, due to the “drastic acceleration in the increase in Russian troops” on the border from Ukraine. Despite this, he has assured that this decision “does not undermine at all” the United States’ commitment to Ukraine. “We will return our staff to the embassy (in Kiev) as soon as conditions allow,” he promised.
The US already ordered at the end of January the departure from Ukraine of the families of the employees in its embassy in the country and authorized the departure of non-essential personnel, due to the “continued threat of military action by Russia.” However, it was not until this Saturday that he decreed the departure of most of Ukraine’s diplomatic employees in the face of a possible Russian attack on Ukraine.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the State Department has ordered the destruction of computers and other equipment to connect to embassy networks in Kiev, in addition to the dismantling of the mission’s telephone system. In addition, the confidential materials that were kept in the embassy arrived this Sunday at the Dulles airport (Virginia), on the outskirts of Washington, along with 56 workers from the diplomatic mission, according to an internal document obtained by the newspaper.
The head of diplomacy has stressed that US citizens who remain in Ukraine should “leave the country immediately”, three days after the White House asked them to do so within a maximum period of 48 hours.
“We will not invade Ukraine unless provoked to do so”
Vladimir Chizhov
The Russian Foreign Minister informed President Vladimir Putin on Monday that “there are possibilities” of an agreement with the United States and NATO on “key issues” of the security guarantees that Moscow demands and has announced that contacts will continue in full tensions around Ukraine.
Although, in one interview with The Guardian, Russia’s ambassador to the EU wanted to stress that Moscow would be within its rights to launch a “counterattack” if it deemed it necessary to protect Russian citizens living in eastern Ukraine.
“We will not invade Ukraine unless provoked to do so,” Vladimir Chizhov has said. “If the Ukrainians launch an attack against Russia, they shouldn’t be surprised if we fight back. Or if they start brazenly killing Russian citizens anywhere, in Donbas or wherever.”
He has also indicated that the United States has presented concrete proposals to reduce military risks, but has affirmed that the responses of the European Union and the NATO military alliance have not been “satisfactory”, according to reports Reuters.
The US is prepared for a possible “aggression”
The United States government has assured this Monday that it has not seen “any tangible sign” of de-escalation by Moscow amid growing tensions over the concentration of troops on the border with Ukraine and fear of a new Russian invasion.
“We need de-escalation for diplomacy to move forward,” said State Department spokesman Ned Price.
The Pentagon has stressed that it believes Russia has not yet made a final decision on whether or not to attack Ukraine, despite reports that the attack could take place this week. Although they continue to see “entirely possible” that Russia moves towards Ukraine “at very short notice”.
The US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, held a telephone conversation this Saturday with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in which he told him that the diplomatic channel remains open for the situation in Ukraine, as long as Moscow “de-escalates” and negotiates good faith. Despite this, the US Secretary of State has stated that Washington is prepared to respond to a possible “aggression” by Moscow in Ukraine and warned Russian President Vladimir Putin that an invasion would be met with economic sanctions and a reinforcement of the defensive capacity of Ukraine.
“I continue to hope that he does not choose the path of renewed aggression and that he chooses the path of diplomacy and dialogue. But if he does not, we are prepared,” Blinken explained this Saturday in reference to Putin during a press conference in Fiji. .
Tensions between Kiev and Moscow have increased since last November, after Russia stationed more than 100,000 troops near the Ukrainian border, which triggered alarms in Ukraine and the West, which denounced the preparations for an invasion.
The United States insists a Russian attack on Ukraine may be “imminent,” while Russia denies planning an invasion, saying it has a sovereign right to station troops anywhere on its territory.
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