As worries of a Moscow-led invasion deepen, the US moved State Department officials and diplomatic activities from Ukraine to Poland on Monday.
This comes after Russia sent soldiers into Ukraine’s breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk for so-called “peacekeeping” activities.
This Won’t Be Another Afghanistan
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a letter that department workers in Ukraine’s western city of Lviv will spend a night in Poland for “safety considerations.”
“Our diplomats will return to Ukraine on a regular basis to conduct their diplomatic job and provide urgent consular services,” Blinken added. “They will keep supporting the Ukrainian government and its people while coordinating international efforts,” says the statement.
He remarked the United States’ commitment to Ukraine was “steadfast.”
For 4 years, the Left parroted the hoax that our Administration was weak on Russia.
Yet, they didn’t dare invade Ukraine on our watch. But now they do.
Who do you think Putin feared more?
— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) February 22, 2022
The decision to provisionally shift workers comes only days after U.S. embassy employees were transferred from Kyiv to Lviv in response to a “dramatic acceleration” of the Russian armed soldiers near Ukraine’s borderline.
The Biden government has been approached for comment by the Epoch Times.
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared on Monday he will acknowledge the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s State and the Luhansk People’s Republic.
These are two Russian government strongholds that charged Ukrainian troops with shelling and inflaming tensions, claims Ukraine strongly denied.
Officials from the US and Ukraine warned Moscow may invent “pretexts” to justify an attack on Ukraine.
Putin signed a directive on Monday, enabling Russian military soldiers to enter the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, promising to “keep the peace.” Since the Crimean crisis in 2014, there have been multiple reports of Russian special operations forces in Ukraine.
There is a Deployment of Russian Troops in Ukraine
“Russian forces are not deployed in this section of Donbas,” a top Biden White House official said in response to the action on Monday. “The truth has been considerably different, as we pointed out on several occasions in recent years.”
“There have also been Russian soldiers deployed in these locations continuously,” the official persisted, “so we’ll be watching what they do in the following hours and days very carefully; our reaction will be calculated according to their actions.”
How to incentivize a Russian invasion of Ukraine:
– Pull out of Afghanistan for no reason and hand it to the Taliban;
– Kill Keystone XL;
– Shift European energy production toward completely inefficient sources;
– Greenlight Nord Stream 2 and keep rejecting attempts to stop it.— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) February 22, 2022
Blinken also urged Americans to leave Ukraine “immediately” in his Monday message. Any Russian military actions, he warned, would “severely impede commercial aviation flights.”
“Russian troops are continuing to advance closer to the city in what appears to be preparations for an assault at any time,” Blinken said, citing recent reports of shelling in the Kharkiv, Luhansk, as well as Donetsk areas.
“American residents who chose to stay in these places, despite our advice to leave Ukraine promptly, should be attentive and aware of what is happening.”
“In the case of an attack, individuals in the United States should seek shelter in a reinforced structure and keep an eye on major news channels for updates on when it is safe to move,” he said.
