MOSCOW, February 10. /TASS/. Russia does not rule out the possibility of evacuating diplomats from Ukraine to protect them from possible provocations by the Kiev regime and third countries, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Andrey Rudenko said in an interview with TASS.
The deputy foreign minister pointed out that the United States and a number of Western countries recently announced the evacuation of their embassy personnel from Kiev. "Obviously, this is due to the fact that our Western colleagues apparently know something that we do not know, or are preparing something. Given this situation, we also reserve the right to take the necessary measures to ensure the safety of our diplomats in Ukraine, as well as their protection from possible provocations by the Kiev regime or from third countries, even organizing their evacuation home," Rudenko said.
He recalled that the Russian Foreign Ministry denied rumors about the alleged evacuation of Russian diplomats from Ukraine that appeared almost a month ago in the American edition of the New York Times. "In fact, the Americans passed off the traditional New Year holidays as an
'evacuation' as well," the senior diplomat added.
In late January, the US Department of State ordered families of American diplomats and some of its diplomatic staff in Kiev to leave Ukraine. The State Department said at the time that US citizens were advised not to travel to Ukraine because of the "increased threats of Russian military action". American citizens were advised that they "should consider departing" using commercial or other privately available transportation options.