(Washington) The United States has decided to move its embassy in Ukraine from Kiev to Lviv, in the west of the country, in the face of the “dramatic acceleration” of the deployment of Russian forces on the border, announced Monday the chief of American diplomacy.
Posted at 2:30 p.m.
“We are in the process of temporarily relocating the operations” of the embassy in Kiev “to Lviv”, declared Antony Blinken in a press release, ensuring that he wanted to guarantee the “safety of Americans”.
“The embassy will remain in contact with the Ukrainian government,” but “we strongly urge any US nationals still in Ukraine to leave the country immediately,” he added. “We are also continuing our intense diplomatic efforts for a de-escalation of the crisis. »
“We intend to bring our staff back to the Embassy as soon as conditions permit,” added the Secretary of State.
He said that Washington would continue its “sincere efforts for a diplomatic solution”. “The diplomatic channel remains open if Russia decides to dialogue in good faith”, he insisted, while Washington said it expected a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine “at any time”, including in the next few days.
The staff of the embassy in the Ukrainian capital had already been reduced to its bare minimum when the United States ordered the departure of most of its diplomats this weekend and ended consular services in Kiev. A small consular presence had already been set up in Lviv, about 70 km from the Polish border, for emergencies.
At the embassy in Kiev, a Ukrainian security guard told AFP that all the Americans had left, and that the building was now closed. No United States flag was visible.
Antony Blinken had spoken in the morning with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kouleba, to whom he reaffirmed his support for “the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine”, according to another press release from the State Department.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had qualified a few hours before the American announcement as a “big mistake” the decision of certain Western countries to move their embassy from Kiev to Lviv.
The relocation of the embassy comes as Moscow deemed possible a diplomatic settlement of the crisis with the West on Monday and announced the end of certain military maneuvers.