Biden administration orders diplomats’ families out of Ukraine

The US State Department is ordering family members of US diplomats in Ukraine to evacuate the country in the coming days and allow non-emergency staff to leave, another signal of the situation between the US and Ukraine. How bad Ukraine and Russia have become in recent times. day.

“Russian military action could happen at any time,” a senior State Department official said on a call with reporters on Sunday night. “The US government would not be in a position to evacuate US citizens under such an unexpected circumstance.”

As Russia has ramped up hundreds of thousands of troops and equipment along the Ukrainian border in recent months, concerns have arisen that Russia could be preparing to launch an all-out assault on Ukraine now. .

The State Department’s decision is yet another sign of just how worrisome the situation in Ukraine has become, as diplomatic efforts to stop Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have stalled, and a sign that Another clear indication that the Biden Administration anticipates Russia will carry out the attacks — perhaps sooner than later.

There are several different forms of embassy evacuation, and each shows only a different degree of severity on the ground.

“You basically did a voluntary evacuation, allowing dependents and non-essential staff to leave, and then you ordered an evacuation, where management basically said everyone outside except you, you and you leave,” Steven Pifer, a former US ambassador to Ukraine, told The Daily Beast. “If you see that drop start… that suggests to me that information is reaching a point where the US government believes something is going to happen.”

The State Department also increased its travel advisories for Ukraine, warning Americans on Sunday not to travel to Ukraine due to the increased threat of Russian military action.

“If Russia chooses to escalate further… the security conditions… are unpredictable and could deteriorate without notice,” another senior State Department official said on Sunday.

The travel warning from the State Department has been raised to “do not travel”, but that is due to concerns about COVID-19 and “Increasing threats from Russia.”

In recent days, the Biden administration has also begun considering deploying thousands of troops to NATO countries in the Baltics and Eastern Europe to further deter Russia. New York Times.

The news comes as Russian President Vladimir Putin plans to establish a pro-Russian regime in Kiev, Ukraine, according to intelligence the British government shared with The Daily Beast on Saturday. The UK government assesses that Russian intelligence has identified former Ukrainian MP Yevheniy Murayev as their potential leader to lead the takeover and has also identified other former Ukrainian politicians who could be part of the scheme. conspiracy, the British government assessed.

It’s not clear whether news of this conspiracy influenced the Biden administration’s decision to allow diplomats to leave and evacuate diplomats’ family members, but the US government is following suit. watch Putin on the field. sabotage attacks against Russia’s own forces to declare aggression from Ukraine and justify attacking Ukraine.

“We have been concerned and have correctly warned about those kinds of tactics for weeks. Russia could and could try in some way to overthrow and try to replace the Ukrainian government,” said one of the senior State Department officials.

One of the officials the Russian government has reportedly identified, Boris Sivkovich, a former deputy chairman of Ukraine’s National Security and Defense Council, is the subject of US sanctions in recent days.