State Department relocates U.S. Embassy in Ukraine to western city
Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the temporary relocation of U.S. diplomats from Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Monday announced that the State Department had begun temporarily relocating the operations of the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine from the capital of Kyiv to the city of Lviv in the western part of the country.
In a statement, Blinken attributed the change in posture to “the dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces” massed along Ukraine’s borders, which U.S. officials estimate to be roughly 100,000 troops.
“The Embassy will remain engaged with the Ukrainian government, coordinating diplomatic engagement in Ukraine,” Blinken said. “We are also continuing our intensive diplomatic efforts to deescalate the crisis.”
Blinken stressed that the embassy movements by the United States “in no way undermine our support for or our commitment to Ukraine,” adding: “I have ordered these measures for one reason — the safety of our staff.”
At a news briefing on Monday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price expressed gratitude for the National Police of Ukraine, whom he said would guard the U.S. embassy following the diplomats’ departure. Price also said U.S. officials planned to return to the Kyiv embassy “just as soon as it is safe for us to do so.”
The temporary embassy relocation to Lviv was “a matter of geography,” Price said, because the city’s location “affords it a degree of protection that other places in Ukraine may not have.”
The State Department’s announcement comes amid increasingly dire rhetoric from U.S. officials about the potential for an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine, as well as fears of Russian troops potentially encircling Kyiv or toppling the seat of government.
The United States last month ordered the relatives of U.S. embassy staffers in Ukraine to leave the country, while giving certain diplomats the option to depart.
Last Friday, national security adviser Jake Sullivan urged all Americans still in Ukraine to flee, warning that President Joe Biden would not send U.S. troops into harm’s way to evacuate U.S. citizens who could have left the country when they had the chance.