The U.S. has ordered family members to leave Kyiv's embassy due to the threat of Russian military action, signalling a further turn of the screw in the standoff over Ukraine.
The New York Times reported that President Joe Biden is considering deploying troops to eastern Europe and the Baltics, despite the U.S. warnings that Russia could send troops into Ukraine at any time. The tension follows U.S.-Russian talks last week that didn't open a conclusive path to ending the standoff.
Russia is planning significant military action against Ukraine, according to an advisory issued by the State Department on Sunday. Security conditions are unpredictable and can deteriorate with little notice, especially along Ukraine's borders, Russia-controlled Crimea and Russia-controlled eastern Ukraine. The US position is that Russian President Vladimir Putin could launch an invasion at any time, senior State Department officials said yesterday, speaking with reporters on condition of anonymity. Sunday s decision does not change U.S. support for Ukraine and the embassy in Kyiv continues to operate, they said.
Biden is contemplating sending troops to eastern Europe and the Baltics, as well as sending warships and aircraft to NATO allies, according to the New York Times. It could involve sending 1,000 to 5,000 troops to eastern Europe, a number that could be boosted tenfold if necessary, according to the report.
The U.S. officials downplayed questions about what caused the departure order and the risk of an invasion from neighboring Belarus, where Russia has sent troops and armor to within a few miles of the Ukrainian border for joint military drills that start February 10.
Members of the Ukrainian military were on the Russian separatist front line in Ukraine on Sunday. The State Department has ordered family members of U.S. Embassy personnel in Kyiv to leave the country amid growing concerns about a possible Russian invasion. The Belarus exercises have been taken note by the US, but the overall situation could change and deteriorate quickly, the officials said. The U.S. doesn't know if Putin is making up his mind about an invasion, they said.
The advisory urged U.S. citizens to consider leaving Ukraine now using commercial or other private travel options. U.S. citizens, especially those planning to stay in Ukraine, were asked to register with the State Department.
Asked if Kyiv was safe, the Biden administration was watching closely, hour by hour and day by day, as asked by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier Sunday about a possible pullout of diplomats families.
Blinken rejected the pressure to immediately escalate sanctions on Russia for its military buildup, saying it would limit western options in the future.
He said the U.S. has focused its efforts on building up the threat of massive consequences for Russia to dissuade Putin from sending forces into Ukraine and leaving the door open to diplomacy with its European allies.
He said on CNN's State of the Union that the sanctions are intended to deter Russian aggression and that if they are triggered now, you lose the deterrent effect. He said the U.K. is tracking a U.K. warning that Russia is plotting to install a pro-Kremlin government in Ukraine as part of the Kremlin's playbook for encroaching on its neighbor.
He said on Meet the Press that we have been concerned and have been warning about exactly these kinds of tactics for weeks. The U.S. officials didn't give an estimate of how many Americans are in Ukraine, or how many family members are affected by the departure order.