US, allies urge citizens to leave Ukraine even as Kyiv calls for calm

The US and some of its allies have called on their citizens to leave Ukraine, raising the alarm about an imminent invasion by Russia despite Moscow’s denials and Kiev’s warnings that the West’s unnecessary scaremongering is wreaking havoc on its economy.

The White House claimed that Russia could invade Ukraine before the conclusion of the Winter Olympics on February 20 and may seek to seize the capital Kyiv and other cities, with US national security adviser Jake Sullivan saying Americans could not expect military evacuation if they remained in Ukraine and should leave within 48 hours.

“We continue to see signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border,” Sullivan told reporters. “We are in the window when an invasion could begin at any time.”

“If a Russian attack on Ukraine proceeds, it is likely to begin with aerial bombing and missile attacks that could obviously kill civilians without regard to their nationality,” he said.

Following in Washington’s footsteps, the UK government advised British nationals to immediately leave Ukraine while commercial means were still available and warned against further travel to the country.

UK defense minister James Heappey stressed in an interview with Sky News that British nationals who choose to stay in Ukraine should not expect a military evacuation if conflict with Russia breaks out.

“British nationals should leave Ukraine immediately by any means possible and they should not expect, as they saw in the summer with Afghanistan, that there would be any possibility of a military evacuation,” he said.

Belgium also advised its nationals to leave Ukraine after the US warned that a Russian invasion could begin within days with aerial bombardments.

“Nationals who are currently in Ukraine and whose presence is not strictly necessary in the country are strongly advised to leave the country,” the Belgian foreign ministry said on its website.

The ministry said it strongly advised against travel to the country, adding that an evacuation could not be guaranteed.

The anti-Russia sentiment instigated by the Western governments comes as Moscow on multiple occasions has rejected the US claims of a Russian invasion.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has also criticized the Western states for stoking tensions and called on them to avoid creating “panic” in the face of the Russian troop buildup on the country’s border. Zelensky underlined that the panic-triggering alerts are placing a heavy burden on his country’s economy.