Leave Ukraine Now, U.S Government Tells Citizens

The US government is urging Americans in Ukraine to leave the country immediately, warning that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch an attack in the coming days.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has warned of an increased possibility of Russian military strikes on Ukraine in the coming days around Ukrainian independence day.

“The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days,” the embassy said in an alert on its website.

The US Embassy urges US citizens to depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so,” a security alert on the embassy’s website said.

“The security situation throughout Ukraine is highly volatile and conditions may deteriorate without warning.”

The renewed US warning comes as Russia’s unprovoked invasion of Ukraine approaches the six-month mark on Wednesday and follows similar warnings, from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other officials, that Moscow may carry out intense attacks, including missile strikes, to coincide with Ukraine’s Independence Day on Wednesday.

In Kyiv, the city military administration issued a ban on all big gatherings between Monday and Thursday, saying “it is forbidden to hold mass events, peaceful meetings, rallies and other events related to a large gathering of people.”

Gen. Mykola Zhyrnov, head of Kyiv’s military administration, said the order was imposed so that security forces could respond in a “timely manner to threats of missile and bomb attacks by the troops of the Russian Federation on decision-making centers, military facilities, defense industry facilities, critical infrastructure, and nearby residential areas.”