US orders families of diplomats to leave Ukraine amid Russian military buildup [Video]

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• The State Department urged all U.S. citizens in Ukraine to leave the country immediately amid Russia’s military buildup on the border.
• The U.S. also ordered embassy staffers’ families in Kyiv to leave due to the alarming security conditions.
• US officials are concerned Russia may invade Ukraine

The State Department on Sunday has ordered families of U.S embassy employees in Kyiv, Ukraine, to leave the country due to Russian military buildup in the border. 

Russian military action anywhere in Ukraine would severely impact the embassy’s ability to provide consular services, including assistance to U.S. citizens in departing Ukraine. The State Department is urging those who can depart to do so on commercially-available flights.   

The decisions were made out of an abundance of caution due to Russia’s potential military action and disinformation campaigns.

Russia has amassed over 100,000 troops on Ukraine’s border, and although the U.S. does not know if Russian President Vladimir Putin has made a decision to invade or if a decision is imminent, he has built the military capacity to invade at any point, one of the officials said. 

The State Department’s travel advisory to Ukraine was already at a level four, the highest level, because of COVID-19, but the advisory was updated to urge citizens not to travel to the country over concerns of the potential of a significant Russian military action against Ukraine. 

The U.S. last month authorized an additional $200 million in defensive aid, and the first shipment which contains lethal aid for the Ukraine defensive forces arrived in Kyiv on Saturday. 

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told “Face the Nation” on Sunday that there will be “massive consequences” for Russia if its military forces invade Ukraine.

“Russia will make its decisions based on President  [Vladimir] Putin’s calculus of what’s in their interest,” Blinken said. He added that the US made it clear that “if there’s aggression, there’ll be massive consequences.”

President Biden last week said it was his “guess” that Russia would invade Ukraine.

Russia’s government has consistently denied any plans to attack Ukraine, but it also leaves the option of unspecified “military action” on the table if the U.S. and the West refuse to grant what Putin has called “security guarantees” constraining NATO’s actions in the region.

Source: CBS News