US Embassy in Kiev Closed Amid Air Strike Warning from Russia

Reuters quoted an announcement from the US Embassy in Kiev stating that this diplomatic agency will temporarily suspend operations on November 20, and at the same time request US citizens in Ukraine to find shelter in case of an emergency.

"To minimize further damage, the US Embassy in Kiev will temporarily close and embassy staff will be relocated to a safe location," the US State Department said in a statement.

Outside the US Embassy in Kiev. (Photo: Reuters)

Also according to the announcement, the US State Department believes that Russia will launch a large-scale airstrike across Ukraine in the next 24 hours.

The unusual warning comes just a day after Ukraine used US-supplied ATACMS missiles to attack Russian territory. Although there is information that the Biden administration approved the action, the White House has not yet confirmed it.

Days earlier, Russia launched its largest attack since August on Ukraine's energy system, causing major damage to Kiev.

The US Embassy in Kyiv urged its citizens in Ukraine to stock up on water, food and other essentials such as medicine in case of "possible temporary power and water outages" due to Russian airstrikes.

“Continued Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure across Ukraine could cause power outages, loss of heating systems and disruption of urban services,” the warning added.

According to Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Russia is ready to carry out more airstrikes in the next few days.

"Russia has been stockpiling enough missiles for air strikes on Ukraine for many months. Among them are Kh-101 missiles, Kalibr missiles and several types of ballistic missiles," Mr. Kovalenko said.

Russia has repeatedly warned the West that if Washington allows Ukraine to fire US, British and French missiles deep into Russian territory, Moscow will view this action as tantamount to NATO directly entering the conflict.

In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was studying various ways to respond if Washington approved Ukrainian airstrikes with US-made weapons deep into Russian territory.

On October 19, President Putin lowered the threshold for nuclear deterrence in response to conventional attacks, as tensions between Russia and the West reached their highest level in more than 50 years.

Tra Khanh (Source: Reuters)

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/dai-su-quan-my-o-kiev-dong-cua-truoc-canh-bao-khong-kich-tu-nga-ar908535.html