WASHINGTON (AP), The United States has begun to evacuate almost all staff members from its embassy at Kyiv, as Western intelligence officials warn of a Russian invasion.
Senior State Department officials said that while a small number of staff will remain to maintain communication with the government, all consular operations will be suspended.
Security concerns prevented the official from revealing how many people would be left, but there were approximately 180 Americans employed at the Embassy as of December. The official stated that some of them had left, and that the majority would be returning to Washington.
Officials said that the move was made due to Russian threats to Kyiv. They also reiterated the warning that American citizens should leave immediately.
Families of U.S. Embassy staffers living in Kyiv had been ordered by the State Department to leave. It had previously allowed families of U.S. Embassy staffers in Kyiv to leave, but it left that up to nonessential personnel to decide if they wanted.
John Kirby, press secretary for the Pentagon, stated Saturday that the Pentagon had ordered temporary repositioning the 160 members Florida National Guard deployed to Ukraine in late November.
These troops have been advising Ukrainian forces and will be repositioned elsewhere in Europe.
Kirby stated that U.S. Defense secretary Lloyd Austin made this decision “out of an abundance of caution — with safety and security for our personnel foremost in his mind.”
Kirby stated that “this repositioning doesn’t signify a change of our determination to support Ukraine Armed Forces but will give flexibility in assuring allies or deterring aggression.”
In a show of American commitment to NATO allies concerned about Russia’s possible invasion of Ukraine, the Pentagon announced Friday that it would send 3,000 combat troops to Poland in addition to 1,700 already there.
According to a defense official who gave the information in accordance with ground rules established by the Pentagon, the additional soldiers from Fort Bragg (North Carolina) should arrive in Poland by next week. These are the last elements of an infantry regiment of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Their mission is to provide deterrence and training, but not combat in Ukraine. This announcement was made shortly after Jake Sullivan (President Joe Biden’s national safety adviser) issued a public warning to all Americans living in Ukraine to flee the country as soon possible. Sullivan stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin could issue an order to invade Ukraine anytime now.
A similar mission to provide reassurance to NATO allies, approximately 1,000 U.S. soldiers stationed in Germany are moving to Romania with the U.S. troops currently deployed to Poland. Commanded by Lt. General Michael E. Kurilla, 300 soldiers from the 18th Airborne Corps Headquarters unit arrived in Germany.
The American troops will train with the host-nation forces, but they are not allowed to enter Ukraine.
Around 80,000 U.S. troops are already stationed in Europe, both at permanent stations or on rotational deployments.
