Germany has advised its citizens who do not have an important reason to stay in Ukraine to leave after Washington warned that a Russian invasion could begin “any day” following the build-up between Russia and Ukraine.
According to the German foreign ministry, “Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have again shot up in the last few days due to the massive movements of Russian military units near the Ukrainian border.”
“If you are currently in Ukraine, make sure that your presence is imperative. If that is not the case, please leave the country for the time being.”
Belgium and the Netherlands joined Germany in becoming the latest Western countries to advise their citizens to leave Ukraine.
Russian President, Vladimir Putin has surrounded Ukraine from nearly all flanks in a high-stakes standoff with the West over NATO’s post-Soviet expansion into countries once under the Kremlin’s domain.
However, in reaffirmation of its warning on Sunday, Washington said Russia was ready to strike at “any moment” with an assault that would likely start with “a significant barrage of missiles and bomb attacks”.
The White House in a statement said, President Joe Biden, while briefing Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday about his hour-long phone call with President Putin the previous day, said no new ground was broken.
Meanwhile, Russian President, Vladimir Putin had told his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron in a meeting on Saturday that accusations that Moscow plans to attack Ukraine were “provocative speculation.”
