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U.S. Embassy in Ukraine
Tensions in Ukraine have risen, with the United States ordering the evacuation of relatives of staff at its embassy in Ukraine and allowing non-essential workers to leave. The U.S. also urged U.S. citizens in Ukraine to consider leaving.
The U.S. State Department said in a statement that there were reports that Russia was planning a major military action against Ukraine.
Russia denies it is planning to invade Ukraine.
Britain warned Putin that he was planning to install a pro-Moscow figure to lead the Ukrainian government.
Intrusion can happen at any time
The State Department also warned U.S. citizens against travel to Ukraine and Russia due to ongoing tensions and “potential harassment of U.S. citizens.”
A State Department official told AFP the embassy remained open, but warned that an invasion could come “at any time.”
They said the government “would be unable to evacuate U.S. citizens during this emergency.”
Is Russia Ready to Invade Ukraine?
The head of NATO has warned that with an estimated 100,000 Russian troops massed at the border, Europe risks a new round of conflict.
About 170 tons of US-aided weapons and ammunition arrived in Ukraine over the weekend.
U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the U.S. government is working on a “set of actions that will be taken into account by President Putin,” including bolstering Ukraine’s defenses with more military aid.
Russia has seized territory in Ukraine before, annexing the region after Crimea overthrew a pro-Moscow president in 2014.
The Ukrainian military has since fought a war with Russian-backed rebels in the Donbas region, close to the Russian border, where an estimated 14,000 people have died.
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On Sunday, Britain’s Foreign Office accused Putin of planning a pro-Moscow figure to lead the Ukrainian government and called former Ukrainian lawmaker Yevhen Murayev a potential candidate for the Kremlin.
Murayev is a media owner whose party failed to secure 5 percent of the vote in the 2019 elections and lost his seat in Ukraine’s parliament.
Responding to potential candidates about the Russian arrangement, he told the media the UK Foreign Office “seems confused”.
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“It’s not very logical. I was banned from entering Russia. Not only that, but my father’s company in Russia was confiscated,” Murayev said.
Afterward, however, he wrote on Facebook that “gone are the days of pro-Western and pro-Russian politicians in Ukraine”.
“Ukraine needs new politicians whose policies will be based solely on Ukraine’s national interests and the principles of the Ukrainian people.”
But Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK, Vadym Prystaiko, also believes that Russia is trying to install a pro-Moscow leader, and “this is not the first time they have tried to do this”.
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Russia’s massing of troops on the Ukrainian border has raised concerns in the West.
Anglo-German involvement
In a statement, British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said Russia must de-escalate the situation, end its aggression and disinformation campaign, and pursue diplomatic avenues.
The Russian Foreign Ministry tweeted that the British Foreign Office was “spreading false information” and urged it to “stop these provocative activities” and “stop gibberish”.
British Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab said there was a “very serious risk” of a Russian invasion of Ukraine and that there would be “serious economic consequences”, including sanctions, if Russia took action.
However, he told the BBC it was “highly unlikely” that British troops would be sent to defend Ukraine, adding that Ukraine was not a NATO member.
Asked whether the threat of sanctions would be enough to deter a Russian invasion, Raab said Putin would also be concerned about “getting stuck in Ukraine” and eventually “promoting another Chechnya.” Chechnya has been in conflict for several years since the 1990s.
He added that Russia “needs to abide by the fundamental principles of international law, and invading another country is not one of them”.
Germany is also involved in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.
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German naval commander Schönbach (right) said Putin wanted respect.
Speaking at a think-tank discussion in India on Friday, German naval commander Kay-Achim Schönbach said Putin needs to be treated equally by Western countries.
Giving Putin the respect he really needs is easy and probably deserves, he said.
Schönbach further stated that the idea that Russia wants to invade Ukraine is nonsense and that all President Putin wants is respect. He also said the Crimea peninsula, which Russia annexed to Ukraine in 2014, “has passed and will never come back.”
Ukraine’s foreign ministry described Schönbach’s remarks as “absolutely unacceptable”.
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Some U.S. politicians have called on President Biden to airlift weapons to the Ukrainian military.
The remarks caused an uproar, with Schoenbach saying on Saturday that he had resigned “effective immediately” to “avoid further damage”.
About 170 tonnes of US “lethal aid” arrived in Ukraine on Saturday and Sunday, and Britain announced earlier this week that it would send defensive weapons and train additional troops. Several other NATO members are transporting military equipment or deploying troops. But Germany rejected Ukraine’s request for arms and ammunition.