Many countries have begun to order their diplomats to evacuate embassies in the event of a Russian invasion. The United States’ allies Australia, the United Kingdom, and others are among them.
“Officials claim there have not been any specific threats to British diplomats but approximately half the staff in Kyiv will go back to the UK,” reports BBC. “The embassy movements were described as precautionary and nothing is believed to have happened in the last 24 hours to trigger the US and UK’s decisions.”
BBC also noted that the EU diplomatic staff will be able to remain in Ukraine at this time.
Australia’s ABC reports authorities are warning all Aussies not to go to Ukraine.
A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade said that Monday’s advice was to “do no travel” and warned against any changes in the security situation.
The U.S. The U.S. State Department has escalated Ukraine to “Level4: Do Not Travel” and has authorized the voluntary departure of embassy staff as well as a mandatory departure for diplomats’ families.
The Biden administration, however, is repeating its Afghanistan performance and telling Americans that it is not in a position for them to leave. The American people are left on their own.
Axios explains that officials “refused to give estimates of how many relatives will be evacuated, or how many Americans will remain in Ukraine, citing lack of accurate data,” making Ukraine sound like Afghanistan.
Israel is also looking into ways to evacuate Jewish residents from Ukraine. Israel has contingency plans in place to evacuate Jews from any country and is ready to move them to Ukraine if necessary.
The Times of Israel reported that representatives of different government offices and groups met Sunday to discuss the possibility. They included the Prime Minister’s Office and Foreign Minister.
The Times reports that 75,000 Ukrainians are eligible for Israeli citizenship.
But is this all premature? According to a spokesperson for the Ukraine Foreign Ministry, it is.
The statement of Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry starts with:
The U.S. Department of State’s decision to order the evacuation of relatives of U.S. Embassy personnel in Kyiv, and also authorizing the voluntary departure of certain U.S. Government employees, was taken into consideration by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The statement encourages governments to remain calm and peaceful in the face of Russian attempts to destabilize Ukraine. It also thanks the U.S. for its support.
Biden’s administration may send thousands of troops into Eastern Europe. NATO allies, on the other hand, are preparing troops and fighter jets for any eventuality.
Are evacuations too early? Although Ukraine might say so, in this instance it is probably better to evacuate earlier than usual — mainly because we don’t have the stomach for another evacuation of Afghanistan.
