US to evacuate Ukraine embassy; invasion imminent

US military personnel from the Allied nations deployed to Romania take part in a ceremony during a visit of the NATO Secretary General. Pic/AFP

US is set to evacuate its embassy in Kyiv as Western intelligence officials warn that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is increasingly imminent. US officials said the State Department plans to announce that virtually all American staff at the Kyiv embassy will be required to leave ahead of a feared Russian invasion. A small number of officials may remain in Kyiv, but the vast majority of the almost 200 Americans at the embassy will be sent out or relocated to Ukraine's far west, near the Polish border, so the US can retain a diplomatic presence in the country.

The department had earlier ordered families of US embassy staffers in Kyiv to leave. But it had left it to the discretion of nonessential personnel if they wanted to depart. The new move comes as Washington has ratcheted up its warnings about a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine. The officials said a small number of US diplomats may be relocated to Ukraine's far west, near the border with Poland, a NATO ally, so the US could retain a diplomatic presence in the country.

Biden and Putin to speak amidst Ukraine tensions

US President Joe Biden and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin will speak on Saturday as Western nations warned a war in Ukraine could ignite at any moment. Putin requested the telephone call between the leaders to take place on Monday, but Biden wanted to conduct it sooner.

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