The embassy moves seem to be precautionary, and nothing specific is thought to have occurred in the past 24 hours to have triggered the decisions of the US and UK…reports Asian Lite News
The government has begun to withdraw staff from the British embassy in Ukraine amid warnings of a Russian invasion.
Officials say there have been no specific threats to British diplomats, but about half of the staff working in Kyiv will return to the UK.
The US is taking similar action, saying a Russian invasion could come “at any time”, but EU staff will stay in place.
Russia has denied plans for military action, but tens of thousands of troops have amassed on the border.
The embassy moves seem to be precautionary, and nothing specific is thought to have occurred in the past 24 hours to have triggered the decisions of the US and UK.
The US State Department also warned people not to travel to Ukraine and Russia due to the ongoing tension and “potential for harassment against US citizens”.
“There are reports Russia is planning significant military action against Ukraine,” an advisory said.
Non-essential US embassy staff have also been told they can leave, and US citizens have been urged to do the same.
The US has stressed it is not an evacuation, but the state department told AFP news agency that if there was a Russian invasion, it would “not be in a position to evacuate US citizens”.
Ukraine said it was “premature” of the US to withdraw staff and “a display of excessive caution”.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he would not “dramatize” the tensions by withdrawing staff.
“We are not going to do the same thing because we don’t know any specific reasons,” he said as he arrived for a meeting with foreign ministers.
The head of Nato has warned there is a risk of fresh conflict in Europe, with an estimated 100,000 Russian troops now at the border with Ukraine, and diplomatic efforts have failed to ease tensions.
On Saturday, some 90 tons of US “lethal aid” including ammunition for “front-line defenders” arrived in Ukraine.
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the government was putting together a “series of actions that would figure into [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin’s calculus” including beefing up defences in Ukraine with more military assistance.
Russia has seized Ukrainian territory before, when it annexed Crimea in 2014, following fierce protests in Ukraine that toppled the country’s pro-Russian president. Russian forces seized control of Crimea before the territory voted to join Russia in a referendum the West and Ukraine deemed illegal.
Russian-backed rebels control areas of eastern Ukraine near Russia’s borders in a conflict which has cost an estimated 14,000 lives. A 2015 peace deal is far from being fulfilled.
On Sunday, the UK Foreign Office accused Putin of planning to install a pro-Moscow figure to lead Ukraine’s government.
The man named by the UK Foreign Office – former Ukrainian MP Yevhen Murayev – called the claims “stupid” in an interview with Reuters news agency.
UK ministers have warned that the Russian government will face serious consequences if there is an incursion.
US officials said they were concerned that Russia could try to topple and replace the Ukraine government but declined to comment on the UK accusation.
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