US Plans to Evacuate Embassy in Kyiv, AP Reports

WASHINGTON — 

Unnamed U.S. intelligence officials say Washington is ready to evacuate its embassy in Kyiv in anticipation of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, according to an Associated Press report.

The AP story says the State Department will announce the plans early Saturday that would require all American embassy staff to leave Ukraine because of the anticipated invasion.

A few U.S. diplomats may be relocated to far western Ukraine, near Poland, a NATO ally, the anonymous government officials, who are not authorized to speak, told AP. That move would allow the U.S. to maintain a “diplomatic presence” in Ukraine.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said a Russian invasion of Ukraine could begin “during the Olympics.”

Sullivan, speaking at a White House briefing Friday, said “we are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time should (Russian President) Vladimir Putin decide to order it.”

Many analysts have said that Russia is unlikely to carry out any invasion before the Winter Olympics in China end Feb. 20.

Russia now has enough forces on Ukraine’s border to conduct a major military operation, Sullivan said, and Russia could seize “significant territory” in Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv, in an attack.

He urged Americans in Ukraine to leave in the next 24-48 hours, saying a Russian invasion could begin with an air assault that would make departures difficult.

“The risk is high enough and the threat is now immediate enough that prudence demands that it is the time to leave now,” Sullivan said.

Also Friday, U.S. President Joe Biden took part in a secure video call with world leaders to discuss Ukraine.

“The leaders agreed on the importance of coordinated efforts to deter further Russian aggression against Ukraine, including their readiness to impose massive consequences and severe economic costs on Russia should it choose military escalation,” according to a White House statement. In addition to Biden, the call included the leaders of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Britain, NATO, the European Union and the European Council.

A senior U.S. defense official told reporters that Biden has ordered an additional 3,000 soldiers to Poland in addition to the 1,700 already headed there. The Pentagon said the troops are being deployed to reassure NATO allies and deter any potential aggression against NATO’s eastern flank.

The Pentagon announced last week the deployment of the previous 1,700 troops to Poland along with 300 troops who were to be moved from the United States to Germany. It also announced at that time that 1,000 troops already based in Germany were to be redeployed to Romania.

Map: Russian troop locations near Ukraine

Speaking Friday with several of his counterparts in NATO countries, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said the United States stands “united with our NATO Allies to deter and defend against any aggression,” according to a Pentagon statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke by phone with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Friday “to reaffirm the United States’ robust support for Ukraine.”

Blinken “underscored that any and all aggression against Ukraine by Russia will be met with swift, severe and united consequences,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said.

The comments by the U.S. led to the biggest drop in Russia’s ruble in nearly two years. The ruble was down 2.8% Friday, set for its largest daily percentage drop against the dollar since March 2020.

Earlier Friday, Blinken warned of a possible Russian attack on Ukraine at “any time” and urged U.S. citizens to leave the Eastern European country immediately.

He made his comments after meeting in Australia with leaders of the so-called Quad countries — the United States, Australia, Japan and India.

Blinken’s warning also came one day after Biden urged Americans to leave the country immediately and warned in an interview with NBC News of a potential major conflict with Russia should a clash erupt between U.S. and Russian troops.

On Thursday, Biden said, “We’re dealing with one of the largest armies in the world. This is a very different situation, and things could go crazy quickly.”

The U.S. president said he would not send troops to Ukraine, even to rescue Americans in case of a Russian invasion.

“That’s a world war. When Americans and Russians start shooting one another, we’re in a very different world,” he said.

Russia opened 10 days of massive military drills in Belarus on Thursday and docked six of its ships at a strategic Black Sea port, drawing a sharp rebuke from Ukrainian officials, who characterized Moscow’s actions as further escalating tensions in the region.

The Russian maneuvers in Belarus involved thousands of troops and sophisticated weapons systems, such as S-400 surface-to-air missiles, Pantsir air defense systems and Su-35 fighter jets, with some of the training just 210 kilometers north of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv.

Officials in Moscow and Minsk have said Russian troops will withdraw from Belarus sometime after the drills end Feb. 20. But Western officials remain fearful they could be deployed in a Russian invasion of Ukraine, a onetime Soviet republic, along with 100,000 troops Moscow has amassed along Ukraine’s eastern flank.

Ukrainian officials, who launched their own drills on Thursday, assailed the impending Black Sea naval drills, characterizing them as “destructive activity to destabilize the security situation.” Kyiv accused Russia of violating international law by restricting wide swaths of open water to conduct missile and artillery fire training.

Russian officials have denied they plan to invade Ukraine, but diplomatic talks with Western officials have led to a standoff. Russia has demanded that the United States and its allies reject Ukraine’s bid for membership in NATO.

The West has rejected that as a nonstarter but has said it is willing to negotiate with Moscow over missile deployment and troop exercises in Eastern European countries closest to Russia.

Western governments have been calling on Russia to take steps to de-escalate the crisis and have vowed to impose swift and severe economic sanctions if Russia invades Ukraine.

Some information in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

How US Expats in Kyiv Feel About Russia’s Possible War With Ukraine

President Joe Biden is urging US citizens to leave Ukraine immediately as tensions with Russia over its military buildup on the border continue to intensify. The US Embassy in Kyiv had already been urging citizens to consider leaving. Some American expats heeded the advice, others did not. Oksana Lihostova spoke to some Americans in Kyiv about their plans. Anna Rice narrates her story.

Macron Visits Kyiv, Says Putin Talks Prevented Escalation of Crisis

Washington — 

Fresh off a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin, French President Emmanuel Macron traveled to Kyiv for talks Tuesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy as leaders and diplomats work to deescalate tensions along the Ukraine-Russia border.

Macron told reporters Tuesday that in his discussion with Putin, he met his objective of preventing escalation of the crisis.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted Monday that his country seeks “diplomatic solutions, but won’t cross Ukraine’s red lines.”

He said Ukraine will not make any concessions on its sovereignty or territorial integrity, will not hold direct negotiations with “Russian occupation administrations” in the eastern provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk, and that only the people of Ukraine have the right to choose the country’s foreign policy course.

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin (L) in Moscow on Feb. 7, 2022, for talks in an effort to find common ground on Ukraine and NATO.

After the Monday meeting with Macron, Putin said Russia would do its best “to find compromises” in the crisis with the West over Ukraine and said, “As far as we are concerned, we will do everything to find compromises that suit everyone.”

He said there would be “no winners” if war broke out on the European continent.

Russia has deployed more than 100,000 troops along Ukraine’s eastern border with Russia and in its ally, Belarus, with the West fearing that Putin could at any time order an invasion.

France, the United States and their NATO allies have rejected Moscow’s demand that they rule out possible Ukraine membership in the Western military alliance formed after World War II.

U.S. President Joe Biden said Monday a crucial European gas pipeline, Nord Stream 2, will not go forward if Russia invades Ukraine, as he hosted German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the White House.

Biden told reporters “the notion that Nord Stream 2 would go forward” in the event of an invasion by Russian tanks or troops is “just not going to happen.”

Scholz did not directly say whether Germany would cancel the pipeline project but said, “We will take all the necessary steps, and all will be done together” with the United States and other allies.

He said, “We have prepared a reaction that will help us to react swiftly if needed” in the event of a Russian invasion. He said Germany would not “spell out everything in public.”

The Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, running under the Baltic Sea, is designed to bring Russian natural gas to Germany. The pipeline was recently completed but is not yet operational.

The United States, among others, has viewed putting the brakes on the pipeline as part of the deterrence of a Russian attack on Ukraine, eliminating potential Russian revenue from the pipeline.

Addressing reporters Monday, Biden also urged Americans in Ukraine to leave the country, saying, “It would be wise” for them to do so.

The U.S. State Department has already said nonessential employees in Ukraine could leave the country along with family members.

At the outset of their discussions, Scholz and Biden emphasized the close relationship between their two countries. But they have taken different approaches in assisting Ukraine, with the United States sending weapons to the Kyiv government, and Germany sending 5,000 military helmets Ukraine requested, while adhering to its long-held position of not shipping arms into a conflict zone.

Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Monday Putin continued to add to his troop numbers along the borders with Ukraine over the weekend.

“Sizable forces continue to be added to the forces Mr. Putin has arrayed,” Kirby told reporters. “With each passing day, he gives himself a lot more options from a military perspective.”

Carla Babb contributed to this report. Some information also came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters.