US closes embassy in Kiev over potential ‘significant’ air attack amid soaring tensions with Russia
The United States has closed its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev over “a potential significant air attack” by Russia amid rising tensions between Moscow and Washington.
In a statement on Wednesday, the US embassy said it has received specific information of a potentially significant Russian air attack, calling on its citizens to be ready to swiftly seek shelter in the event an air alert is announced.
"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 on the US embassy's website.
This came after the United States on Sunday gave Ukraine the green light to use Western-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia.
Tensions have escalated between Washington and Moscow since then, with the Kremlin censuring the outgoing Joe Biden administration over his decision, saying it aimed to escalate the West's proxy war in Ukraine into a direct conflict with Russia.
Also on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree revising Moscow's nuclear doctrine to indicate the Kremlin's preparedness to respond aggressively to Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory with American long-range missiles.
Since Russia launched its special military operation in eastern Ukraine in February 2022, NATO members have been flooding Ukraine with weapons and munitions.
The US, the UK and Germany had reportedly supplied long-range missiles to Ukraine months ago. However, till now the US government had prevented the Kiev forces from using them to strike deep inside Russia.
Russia has repeatedly warned about the flow of Western weapons to Ukraine, saying it further prolongs the conflict.
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