WASHINGTON, January 24. /TASS/. The US government will not be in a position to evacuate US citizens from Ukraine if tensions escalate, a senior US Department of State official said at a briefing.
According to him, "military action by Russia could come at any time." "The United States Government will not be in a position to evacuate US citizens in such a contingency, so US citizens currently present in Ukraine should plan accordingly, including by availing themselves of commercial options should they choose to leave the country," the diplomat added.
He added that "Russia could try, might try, in some way to topple and replace the Ukrainian government." At the same time, the Department of State official noted that "as to President Putin’s intentions, we don’t know if he has yet made up his mind to invade, but he is building the military capacity along Ukraine’s borders to have that option ready at any time."
On Sunday, the US Department of State authorized the departure of US government employees and ordered the departure of family members of US government employees at the US embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev. According to a statement published on the embassy’s website, the decision was made "due to·continued Russian efforts to destabilize the country."
The West and Kiev have recently been spreading allegations about Russia’s potential ‘invasion’ of Ukraine. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov castigated these claims as "empty and unfounded", serving as a ploy to escalate tensions, pointing out that Russia did not pose any threat whatsoever to anyone. However, Peskov did not rule out the possibility of provocations aimed at justifying such allegations and warned that attempts to use military force to resolve the crisis in southeastern Ukraine would have serious consequences.