Air Attack
The United States has temporarily closed its embassy in Kyiv due to “specific information of a potential significant air attack” and has issued a warning for its citizens in Ukraine to be prepared to seek shelter quickly.
This move comes after Ukraine’s recent use of U.S. ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory, coinciding with the 1,000th day of the ongoing war.
The Biden administration had recently granted new permissions that allowed for these missile strikes, escalating tensions between the U.S., Ukraine, and Russia.
In a statement released on the embassy’s official website, the U.S. Department of State’s Consular Affairs Division explained that the embassy would be closed “out of an abundance of caution.”
Embassy personnel have been instructed to shelter in place as a precautionary measure. The U.S. government also urged American citizens in Ukraine to be vigilant and ready to take immediate cover if an air alert is declared.
This warning and the embassy closure come on the heels of a devastating Russian assault on Ukraine’s infrastructure.
On Sunday, Russian forces launched a coordinated attack involving 120 missiles and 90 drones, targeting Ukraine’s power grid. The attack resulted in significant damage to the country’s energy infrastructure and caused at least seven fatalities.
The bombing has raised alarms about the vulnerability of Ukraine’s already weakened power grid, further complicating the humanitarian situation in the war-torn nation.
As part of the preparedness advisory, the embassy urged U.S. citizens to stock up on essential supplies such as water, food, and medications, anticipating possible power and water outages in the wake of Russian airstrikes.
Additionally, Andriy Kovalenko, head of the Ukrainian Security Council’s Centre for Countering Disinformation, confirmed that Russia has been preparing for further airstrikes.
He warned that Russia had been stockpiling various missiles, including Kh-101 missiles, Kalibr cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles, indicating that more attacks are expected in the near future.
The ongoing conflict is further complicated by Russia’s ongoing warnings to the West.
Russian officials have repeatedly stated that if the U.S. continues to allow Ukraine to use NATO-provided missiles to strike deep into Russian territory, Moscow will consider those nations as being directly involved in the war.
In October, Russian President Vladimir Putin made public remarks indicating that Russia was exploring different retaliatory measures, including potential military responses, should the West continue its support of Ukraine’s missile capabilities.
Adding to the already volatile situation, Putin has recently lowered the threshold for using nuclear weapons in response to a wider range of conventional attacks, thus increasing the risk of nuclear escalation in the conflict.
These developments highlight the high-stakes nature of the ongoing war and the growing concerns about the potential for a broader, more dangerous confrontation between Russia and NATO-backed Ukraine.
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