The United States on Tuesday urged its citizens to leave Ukraine, saying it believes Russia is ready to attack civilian and government infrastructure in the coming days as the war reaches the six-month mark.
The warning comes after the Ukrainian government banned celebrations in the capital, Kiev, to mark the anniversary of its independence from the Soviet regime on Wednesday, amid fears of an attack.
Leaders from dozens of countries and international organizations will join the so-called Crimean Platform this Tuesday in solidarity with Ukraine on the six-month anniversary of the Russian occupation. Most would do this over video.
The Ukrainian military said that on the battlefield, near Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, Russian forces carried out artillery and air strikes in the Zaporizhzhia region of southeastern Ukraine, where fighting is taking place.
But six months after Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, and with thousands of deaths and widespread destruction of cities, the conflict has reached a stalemate.
Russian forces control most of the south, including the Black Sea coast, and parts of the Donas region to the east. Hopes for peace seem almost nonexistent.
Fearing an escalation of Russian attacks, the US Embassy in Kyiv on Tuesday urged US citizens to leave the country if possible.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware that Russia is stepping up its efforts to launch attacks on Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days,” the embassy said in a statement.
US citizens said they should leave Ukraine “now” on their own if it’s safe.
While this is not the first time the US has issued such a warning, it is done as Ukraine will celebrate 31 years of independence from Soviet rule on Wednesday.
It also comes after Daria Dugina, the daughter of a prominent Russian internationalist, was killed in a bomb attack near Mascou on Saturday. Moscow blames Ukrainian agents for the murder, while Kyiv denies the accusation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also said Mascou could try “something particularly outrageous” by his birthday on Wednesday.
Kyiv is far from the front line and has rarely been hit by Russian missiles since Ukraine repulsed a ground attack to capture the capital in March.
source: Noticias
