U.S. officials stated on Saturday that Washington is preparing a plan to evacuate its embassy in Kyiv in anticipation of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. They indicated that the U.S. State Department would announce today a plan to evacuate its diplomats from the Kyiv embassy, with a possibility of relocating some American diplomats to western Ukraine near the Polish border, amid U.S. and European speculation about a Russian invasion. A few officials may remain in Kyiv, but the vast majority of the approximately 200 Americans at the embassy are expected to be sent or relocated to far western Ukraine, near the Polish border, allowing the U.S. to maintain some diplomatic presence in the country. The State Department did not comment on the matter.
Simultaneously, a source with knowledge told the Russian news agency "Sputnik" that Russian diplomats and consular staff have begun leaving Ukraine. U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan stated that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could begin at any moment with airstrikes followed by a ground invasion, urging all Americans to leave Ukraine within 24 hours. During a press conference, Sullivan confirmed that Russia has amassed around 100,000 troops at the Ukrainian border and noted that intelligence reports suggest a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine before February 20.
Countries including Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and Finland have joined in advising their citizens to leave Ukraine as quickly as possible amid rising tensions around the country. Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly urged her citizens to leave Ukraine immediately, stating, "While we continue to work closely with our partners and monitor the situation, I urge all Canadians in Ukraine to take necessary actions and leave the country now." Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison called on citizens to leave Ukraine, saying, "We respect their decisions, but our advice to them is very clear: this is a very dangerous situation, and for your safety, you should try to leave Ukraine." The New Zealand government recommended that its citizens in Ukraine leave immediately "as long as commercial flights are available to bring them home." Finland updated its travel advisory for Ukraine, calling on its citizens to leave immediately due to the "deteriorating security situation and the unpredictability of its developments."
Prior to this, the United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Netherlands, Japan, South Korea, and several other countries urged their citizens to leave Ukraine, while the Jordanian Foreign Ministry called on the kingdom's nationals in Ukraine to register their details for communication.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Russia has deployed more troops at the Ukrainian border and may intervene militarily in its territory "at any moment." Russia has repeatedly denied any plans to attack Ukraine, emphasizing that its troop movements within its borders do not threaten anyone and are part of Russia's internal affairs, blaming the West for fueling hysteria around the issue.
On Friday, the U.S. military announced the deployment of "F-16" fighter jets from Germany to Romania "to bolster regional security" amid tensions with Russia regarding Ukraine, as reported by AFP. The unspecified number of fighter jets was scheduled to arrive at Romania's "Mihail Kogălniceanu" airbase, located less than 100 kilometers from the Black Sea, where they will join Italian fighter jets already stationed there, according to a statement from U.S. Air Forces in Europe based in Germany. The U.S. command confirmed they "will closely cooperate with allies in the Black Sea region to enhance regional security during this period of tension due to Russian military deployments near Ukraine." The fighter jets will be responsible for protecting NATO airspace in the area close to the Crimean Peninsula that was annexed by Moscow in 2014. The Pentagon announced on Friday that it is in the process of sending another 3,000 combat troops to Poland to join 1,700 who are already gathering there as a demonstration of U.S. commitment to NATO allies concerned about the potential for a Russian invasion of Ukraine.
