The U.S. Embassy in Ukraine urged all U.S. citizens to leave the country, signaling an ominous turn as Russia’s full-scale invasion reaches the six-month mark.
The U.S. and Ukrainian governments warned that Russia may drastically step up attacks on Wednesday due to the symbolic significance of the day, which marks Ukraine’s independence. The car bombing that killed Darya Dugina in Moscow has further stoked fears that the Kremlin may use the attack as a pretext for greater attacks on government or civilian infrastructure.
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“The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days. Russian strikes in Ukraine pose a continued threat to civilians and civilian infrastructure. The U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens to depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so,” said a security alert sent out by the embassy.
“The security situation throughout Ukraine is highly volatile and conditions may deteriorate without warning. U.S. citizens should remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness,” the alert said.
The language used in the alert, noting “highly volatile” conditions that “may deteriorate without warning,” was very similar to that used in the security alert sent to U.S. students in Saint Petersburg in late February ordering them all to be evacuated around the start of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Instructions are also given in the new security alert as to what to do in the event of a bombing or attack, including advice such as: “If in a home or a building, go to the lowest level of the structure with the fewest exterior walls, windows, and openings; close any doors and sit near an interior wall, away from any windows or openings.”
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U.S. intelligence claims there is credible information showing that Russia is preparing to step up attacks on government and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, according to Reuters. The Ukrainian government has many of the same suspicions, banning all public independence day celebrations out of fear of such an attack.
Curfews have been ordered in several cities under particular threat; in the eastern city of Kharkov, Mayor Ihor Terekhov ordered a curfew from 7 p.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believes Russia may be preparing something “particularly ugly” for Ukraine’s 31st anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union.
