KYIV, UKRAINE – JANUARY 24: View of the US Embassy on January 24, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. According to media reports, the embassy has ordered family members of embassy staff to leave the country and has urged American citizens in Ukraine to leave as well. Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops on tis border with Ukraine, prompting fears in other countries about a pending military attack. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
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The US closed its embassy in Kyiv on Wednesday, warning that it had “received some information about a heavy air attack” amid tensions with Russia.
The US Embassy in a statement said it was closing the building “out of an abundance of caution” and ordered embassy staff to shelter in place.
“The U.S. Embassy recommends that U.S. citizens be prepared to take shelter immediately in the event of an air warning,” it added.
Air strikes in Kyiv are common as the Ukrainian capital is regularly attacked by Russian drones and missiles. But the latest warning comes amid rising tensions between Moscow and Washington, after reports that the White House on Sunday gave Ukraine permission to use US-made long-range ballistic missiles to attack targets on Russian territory.
On Tuesday, Russia’s Defense Ministry said it captured five US-made ATACMS missiles, and destroyed one, that Ukraine had used to attack its border region of Bryansk. Ukraine has not officially commented on the attack using American-made long-range missiles.
The Pentagon also declined to comment when asked about the development.
The attack sparked outrage in Moscow, with Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov calling the move “escalation” by the West.
The US-made Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) was fired during a joint training exercise between the United States and South Korea, on October 05, 2022 at an undisclosed location.
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The Kremlin has repeatedly warned the West against allowing Ukraine to use its long-range weapons against targets on Russian soil. On Tuesday, President Vladimir Putin approved an amendment to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, changing the limits on which Moscow can use nuclear weapons.
The revised document now states that any attack on Russia, a non-nuclear state backed by nuclear power, would be considered a joint attack.
It also points out that the Kremlin may use nuclear weapons in the event of a serious threat to its sovereignty and territorial integrity – and that of its ally, Belarus – and that the launch of ballistic missiles against Russia would appear among the conditions under which it would agree. nuclear response.
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