Ukraine Crisis: The Pentagon is still supporting Ukraine’s military, despite this order. “This repositioning does not signify a change in our determination to support Ukraine’s Armed Forces, but will provide flexibility in assuring allies and deterring aggression,” Kirby said.
A travel advisory issued by the State Department on Saturday said it had “ordered the departure of most US direct-hire employees from Embassy Kyiv due to the continued threat of Russian military action. “It also stated that consular services would be suspended but stressed a small diplomatic presence would be maintained in the city of Lviv in the west of the country, about 50 miles from the Polish border, to handle emergencies. Numerous countries are also downgrading their diplomatic presence and urging their citizens to leave Ukraine. A senior State Department official said during a call with reporters Saturday morning that it’s past time for US citizens to leave Ukraine because there are limits to what the US can do to assist them in a war zone, which is “inherently volatile” and “extremely dangerous.” Once a country or region becomes an active conflict zone we have very little ability to help our fellow citizens,” the official said. The State Department announcement came ahead of a scheduled call between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin as American officials increased the urgency of their warnings that Moscow may be about to invade. Ahead of that call, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and discussed “acute and shared concerns that Russia may be considering launching further military aggression against Ukraine in the coming days,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Saturday. Blinken tweeted that he “reiterated that further Russian aggression would be met with a resolute, massive, and united Transatlantic response. “On Friday, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan warned a Russian assault on Ukraine could begin soon, beginning with aerial bombings and missile attacks. He advised all Americans to depart the country for their safety as quickly as possible.
Ukraine Crisis: Any American in Ukraine should leave as soon as possible, and in any event in the next 24 to 48 hours,” Sullivan said. “We obviously cannot predict the future, we don’t know exactly what is going to happen. But the risk is now high enough and the threat is now immediate enough that this is what prudence demands.”If a Russian attack on Ukraine proceeds, it is likely, to begin with, aerial bombings and missile attacks that could kill civilians without regard to their nationality. A subsequent ground invasion would involve the onslaught of a massive force,” he continued. The warning came just before a senior defense official told CNN that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had ordered 3,000 more soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division to deploy to Poland, joining the 1,700 already there. The soldiers are there to help Americans who may try to leave Ukraine. Following Sullivan’s remarks, Russia blasted Western countries and media for spreading a “large-scale disinformation campaign” over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, saying Friday that they were doing so “to divert attention from their aggressive actions. “At the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, the global information space faced a media campaign unprecedented in its scale and sophistication, the purpose of which is to convince the world community that the Russian Federation is preparing an invasion of the territory of Ukraine,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement late Friday. On Saturday Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sought to downplay concerns about an imminent invasion. Speaking briefly after watching military exercises near Kherson in southern Ukraine, Zelensky said he had to “analyze all the information” regarding threats at the borders.”And the truth is that we have different information. And now the best friend for enemies is panic in our country. And all this information helps only to create panic, doesn’t help us,” Zelensky said
