US Asks Families of its Diplomats to Leave Ukraine

Following the escalation of the Ukraine crisis, the US State Department has asked the families of its embassy staff in Kyiv to leave Ukraine. Simultaneously, the US is reviewing military options and preparing to deploy several thousand troops and equipment to Eastern European countries.

According to Reuters, the US State Department ordered the families of diplomats in Ukraine to leave the country on Sunday, January 23rd (Bahman 3rd). US diplomats stationed at the embassy in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine, have also been given permission to voluntarily leave Ukraine. The statement said that US President Joe Biden is reviewing options to increase military units in NATO member countries in Eastern Europe.

The US Embassy also declared in a statement: “Russian military action could occur at any time,” and American citizens in Ukraine should leave the country before that using available means.

In recent months, Russia has deployed approximately 100,000 of its troops to the Ukraine border. The West says Russia intends to invade Ukraine to prevent the country from joining NATO. The Kremlin denies planning such an attack.

According to Reuters, senior officials from the Biden administration and the Pentagon presented several options to Joe Biden at a meeting on Saturday at Camp David. The New York Times also reported that Biden is considering deploying 1,000 to 5,000 troops to Eastern European countries in case tensions escalate.

A senior US government official refrained from confirming these figures on Sunday but said his country is developing plans and consulting with allies to determine more options.

The US State Department statement was released one day after the British Foreign Office announced that it has information showing that the Kremlin is simultaneously attempting to form a pro-Russian government in Ukraine while considering attacking and occupying the country.

Anthony Blinken, US Secretary of State, rejected immediate economic sanctions against Russia on Sunday, January 23rd, saying that such sanctions would weaken the West’s ability to prevent a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is while Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the President of Ukraine, and a group of Republican representatives in the US Congress have called for sanctions against Moscow as quickly as possible.

Source: DW