KYIV (Parliament Politics Magazine): As worries of a Russian invasion rise, the United Kingdom has begun to evacuate workers from its mission in Ukraine.
Officials have confirmed no specific threats being made against ambassadors of Britain but around half the staff in Kyiv will be returning home.Â
The US has urged its embassy workers’ families and relatives to leave, citing the possibility of an invasion “at any time.”
Even though Russia denied military activity, tens of thousands of military personnel have gathered near the border.
The embassy relocation was termed as cautious, and nothing special in the last 24 hours is considered to have been the reason for the US and UK decisions.
For the time being, EU personnel in Ukraine will remain there, with EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell promising not to “dramatise” the situation.
The president of Nato has warned that there is a potential of new conflict in Europe, with an estimated 100,000 Russian troops already stationed near Ukraine’s border.
The US also advised non-essential staff in Ukraine that they might depart, emphasising that it wasn’t an evacuation. The State Department, however, informed the AFP news agency that in case of Russian invasion, it would “not be able to remove US citizens.”
On Saturday, 90 tonnes of “lethal aid” was brought to Ukraine from the US, ammunition for “front-line defenders included.Â
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said the US was planning on a “series of actions that would figure into [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin’s calculus,” including strengthening defences of Ukraine with more military aid.
Following the anti-Russian riots in Ukraine which were responsible for deposing the pro-Russian president of the country, Crimea was seized by Russia before in 2014. Crimea agreed to join Russia in a plebiscite that Ukraine and the west regarded as unlawful, the Russian military seized control of the territory.
In a conflict that took 14,000 lives on estimation, Russian-backed rebels control the parts of eastern Ukraine near the borders of Russia. A 2015 peace agreement nowhere close to being implemented.
On Sunday, Russian President Vladimir Putin was accused by the UK Foreign Office of planning to impose a pro-Moscow figure as Ukraine’s prime minister.
In an interview with the Reuters news, MP Yevhen Murayev, former Ukrainian, named by the UK Foreign Office, termed the charges “ridiculous”.Â
In case there is an incursion, the Russian government has been warned of the catastrophic consequences by the UK politicians.Â
The United States’ officials expressed concern over the possibility of Russia trying to destabilise and depose Ukraine’s government, but they refused to elaborate on the UK accusation.
Image via www.gov.uk
