US issues Level 4 warning for embassy officials in Ukraine amid tensions with Russia

The United States on Sunday issued a Level 4 warning for Americans, urging them to scrap travel plans to Ukraine as tensions between Russia and Ukraine continue to escalate along the Donbas region. Citing imminent threat from Russian military action, in a revised travel advisory released by the US embassy in Kyiv, the US also directed nationals in Ukraine and some embassy officials to depart the ex-Soviet nation.

"Do not travel to Ukraine due to increased threads from Russian military action and COVID-19. Exercise increase question in Ukraine due to crime and civil unrest," the advisory from the US Embassy in Ukraine read.

"The report structure is planning significant military action against Ukraine. The security conditions, particularly along Ukraine's border, in Russia-occupied Crimea, and in Russia-controlled Eastern Ukraine, are unpredictable and can deteriorate with little notice," the order added.

The advisory comes against the backdrop of a looming threat of invasion of Kyiv by over 1,00,000 Russian forces amassed along the eastern Ukraine borders since October. In addition, at least 1,000 last month conducted military exercises replicating assault defence. While the West, including European Union (EU), has warned Russia against any potential attack, Russia publicly has refuted all claims of such attack. Nevertheless, Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier in December continued his hostile assertions saying that Moscow will not "sit idle" against "unfriendly steps" resulting from "aggressive Western politics."

"Demonstrations which of non-violent at times regularly occur throughout Ukraine including in Kyiv," the Embassy statement said.

The US embassy also warned that the US citizens in the ex-Soviet nation just be aware of the Russian military actions. It also added that such actions will "severely impact" the embassy's ability to provide the required assistance, including facilitating departure from Ukraine, thus, urging all Americans to avoid taking trips as well requesting Embassy officials to return to the US. The US State Department also asked citizens to travel to Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk.

Russia-Ukraine tensions

It is pertinent to mention that Russia and Ukraine have locked horns since 2014 after Moscow invaded Ukraine's Crimean peninsula and annexed it, leading to a rise in human rights oppression, arbitrary imprisonment, and abuse of local population and foreigners, the US State Department said. Russia-led forces also took control of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, where conflicts in 2014 killed nearly 14,000.

Recently, Russia deployed troops along the conflict-ridden Donbas region assumably as a retaliation to the expansion of US-led North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) troops. In recently held meetings between the US, Russia, and NATO, Kremlin placed a list of security guarantees, demanding blocking ex-Soviet nation, Ukraine, from joining the bloc and restricting the deployment of NATO troops and weapons towards the eastern borders of Europe.

(Image: AP)