Canada is following the example of the United States, the country’s foreign minister, Mélanie Joly, announced on Saturday.
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Canada announced on Saturday, February 12, to temporarily close its embassy in Kiev and move its operations to a temporary office in Lviv, in the west of the country. The decision has been made “due to the deterioration of the situation caused by the deployment of Russian troops on the border”explained the Minister of Foreign Affairs Mélanie Joly, quoted in a press release.
The United States, which on Saturday ordered the departure of most of the staff of its embassy in Kiev, also transferred employees responsible for essential services to Lviv, about 70 km from the border with Poland. Washington had insisted on Friday on the risk of an invasion “imminent” of Ukraine by Russia, which has massed more than 100,000 troops near the border and has just begun maneuvers troops in the Black Sea and in Belarus, de facto framing the country.
Diplomatic efforts, marked by a frenzy of phone calls on Saturday between Western leaders and Moscow, failed to ease tensions around Ukraine. “We will resume activities at the embassy in Kyiv as soon as the security situation in Ukraine allows us to guarantee appropriate services and adequate security for our staff,” added Mélanie Joly, urging Canadians present in the country to leave it.