A view of the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Kravchenko)
WASHINGTON — The United States is evacuating almost all of the staff from its embassy in Kyiv as Western intelligence officials warn that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is increasingly imminent.
A senior State Department official said Saturday that a very limited number of staff will stay to keep communications open with the government but all consular operations will be suspended.
The official, citing security concerns, would not say how many personnel would remain, but as of December, there were about 180 Americans working at the embassy. Some of those had already left and the majority will be returning to Washington, the official said.
The official said the step was taken due to the potential for major Russian attacks on Kyiv in the event of an invasion and repeated the warning that private American citizens should immediately leave.
Ukrainians attend a rally in central Kyiv, Ukraine, Saturday, Feb. 12, 2022, during a protest against the potential escalation of the tension between Russia and Ukraine. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)
“It isn’t just time to leave Ukraine, it is past time to leave Ukraine,” the official said.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive security information.
The State Department said it will maintain a small consular presence in Lviv, in Ukraine’s far west near the border with Poland, a NATO ally, to handle emergencies.
The State Department had earlier ordered families of U.S. Embassy staffers in Kyiv to leave. But it had left it to the discretion of nonessential personnel if they wanted to depart.
The Pentagon has ordered the temporary repositioning of the 160 members of the Florida National Guard who have been deployed to Ukraine since late November, press secretary John Kirby said in a statement Saturday.
These troops, which have been advising Ukrainian forces, will reposition elsewhere in Europe.
Kirby said U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin “made this decision out of an abundance of caution — with the safety and security of our personnel foremost in mind.”
“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.
The Pentagon announced Friday it was sending 3,000 more combat troops to Poland to join 1,700 who already are assembling there in a demonstration of American commitment to NATO allies worried at the prospect of Russia invading Ukraine.
US soldiers line up during the visit of NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg at the Mihail Kogalniceanu airbase, near the Black Sea port city of Constanta, eastern Romania, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Andreea Alexandru)
The additional soldiers, from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, should be in Poland by early next week, according to a defense official, who provided the information under ground rules set by the Pentagon. They are the remaining elements of an infantry brigade of the 82nd Airborne Division.
Their mission will be to train and provide deterrence but not to engage in combat in Ukraine.
That announcement came shortly after Jake Sullivan, President Joe Biden’s national security adviser, issued a public warning for all American citizens in Ukraine to leave the country as soon as possible. Sullivan said Russian President Vladimir Putin could give the order to launch an invasion of Ukraine any day now.
In addition to the U.S. troops deploying to Poland, about 1,000 U.S. soldiers based in Germany are shifting to Romania in a similar mission of reassurance to a NATO ally. Also, 300 soldiers of an 18th Airborne Corps headquarters unit have arrived in Germany, commanded by Lt. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla.
The American troops are to train with host-nation forces but not enter Ukraine for any purpose.
The U.S. already has about 80,000 troops throughout Europe at permanent stations and on rotational deployments.
WASHINGTON — COVID-19 cases are increasing in the United States — and could get even worse over the coming months, federal health officials warned Wednesday in urging areas hardest hit to consider reissuing calls for indoor masking.
FALMOUTH, MA – The police in Falmouth have identified the victim in an accident involving a car plunging into the ocean on February 20, NBC10 Boston reported.
PHILADELPHIA – The Federation of Hellenic Societies of Philadelphia and Greater Delaware Valley announced that the Evzones, the Presidential Guard of Greece will be participating in the Philadelphia Greek Independence Day Parade on March 20.
Every weekend, TNH and Clelia Charissis are on a mission, traveling around Greece and the world to highlight places through the people we meet along the way.
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