US closes embassy in Kyiv over potential air attack from Russia

Mangalore Today News Network

United States, November 20, 2024: The United States shut its embassy in Kyiv on Wednesday after receiving “information of a potential significant air attack" amid escalations in the Russia-Ukraine war.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the embassy will be closed, and embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place," the US Department of State Consular Affairs said in a statement published on the website of the US embassy in Kyiv.

The US Embassy has advised American citizens to be ready to shelter immediately if an air alert is issued.

This warning follows Ukraine’s use of US-supplied ATACMS missiles to target Russian territory, a move made possible by newly granted permission from the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden, marking the 1,000th day of the war.

Russia had been warning the West for months that if the US allowed Ukraine to launch US, British, and French missiles deep into Russian territory, Moscow would consider these NATO nations as directly involved in the conflict.

In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that Moscow would retaliate against Ukrainian strikes using US-made weapons within Russian borders.

On Tuesday, Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear response to a wider range of conventional attacks, heightening nuclear risks amid the highest tensions between Russia and the West in over 50 years.