WASHINGTON – US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has stated that the US embassy in Ukraine will be temporarily relocated from Kiev to Lviv in the west, citing growing tensions on Ukraine's borders.
"Due to the rapid acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces, we are in the process of temporarily relocating our Embassy operations in Ukraine from our Embassy in Kyiv to Lviv," Blinken stated, adopting the Romanized spelling of the Ukrainian capital city's name.
"The Embassy will continue to coordinate diplomatic involvement in Ukraine with the Ukrainian government," Blinken stated. He went on to say that his country is still "engaged with the Russian administration" and that "diplomacy remains an option." The State Department ordered the evacuation of most US direct hire staff from the embassy in Kiev on Saturday, citing the "continued threat of Russian military action" against neighbouring Ukraine as the reason for the decision.
According to the department, passport, visa, and other routine consular services have been discontinued since Sunday, and the mission of the now-reduced US diplomatic personnel in Lviv is to "handle situations."
Separate phone contacts between US and Russian top diplomats and defence officials took place on Saturday to discuss the Ukraine issue, followed by a high-stakes phone call between US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin later that day.
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