Foreigners urged to leave Ukraine as US sounds alarm on anticipated Russian invasion
Russo–Ukrainian crisis
More and more countries are calling on their citizens to leave Ukraine because of the real threat of a Russian invasion.
On the evening of February 11, the governments of 14 countries made such appeals to their citizens.
In one day, on February 11, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Japan, Norway, Latvia, Great Britain, Estonia and Denmark advised their citizens to leave the territory of Ukraine because of the Russian threat, the Ukrainian broadcaster Hromadske reports.
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Israel, in addition to such recommendations, also announced the evacuation of the families of its diplomats. South Korea has ordered its citizens to leave Ukraine, threatening liability if they do not comply.
Previously, countries, in particular, the United States and Canada, have already advised their citizens to leave the territory of Ukraine.
Head of the European Union Delegation to Ukraine Matti Maasikas urgently left Kyiv. He and up to ten of his subordinates are returning to Brussels, Radio Liberty sources in EU diplomatic circles report. EU spokesman Peter Stano told reporters that this is not an evacuation and that members of staff have the opportunity to work remotely from outside Ukraine.
On February 12, Russian pro-government news agency RIA Novosti reported, citing a source, that Russian diplomats were leaving Ukraine.
Invasion in the “coming days”
US President Joe Biden told other NATO and EU leaders that, according to the US, Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to invade Ukraine in the coming days. This is written by the British edition of The Guardian, citing unnamed diplomatic sources.
Biden allegedly told allies about this on the evening of February 11 during an operational online meeting, where the latest intelligence about the buildup of Russian troops and Putin’s plans had been discussed. The leaders of the United States, Canada, the European Union, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Great Britain and NATO attended this meeting.
Later, US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan held a special briefing where he stated that Washington had real evidence that Russia’s imminent invasion of Ukraine was possible and urged US citizens to leave the country immediately.
“We are not saying that Putin has made a decision, a final decision… We believe that all Americans in Ukraine should leave the country as soon as possible, in any case, within the next 24-48 hours. The risk is quite high right now, and the threat is quite immediate”, Sullivan said.
U.S. public broadcaster Nick Shifrin tweeted, citing three unnamed officials, that the U.S. assessment is that “Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the decision to invade Ukraine and has communicated the decision to the Russian military”.
According to the journalist, such an invasion could begin next week and the US suggests that it could be a “terrifying, bloody campaign that will begin with two days of aerial bombardment and electronic warfare, followed by an invasion with the possible aim of changing power in the country”, according to the Air Force.
The Bloomberg agency, citing sources, even names the date of the invasion – February 15.
In order to defuse the situation, US President Joe Biden and French President Emmanuel Macron held a telephone conversation with Putin on February 12.
In addition, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken intends to hold talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.
