ALBAWABA - The United States said it reopened its embassy in Kyiv late on Wednesday after closing for the day due to what it described as an anticipated severe air attack, a day after Ukraine deployed American missiles to strike a target within Russia.
Russia branded the US missile strike as an escalation in the 1,000-day-old war, while Ukraine's military spy agency claimed Russia was attempting to instill fear by spreading false online messages about an imminent missile and drone attack.
Embassy closure "out of an abundance of caution" was the first State Department statement posted on the embassy's website. According to the report, embassy staff was being told to "shelter in place".
"The US Embassy recommends US citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced".
According to a source in the US government, the shutdown of the embassy was "related to ongoing threats of air attacks". The embassies of Greece and Italy said that they had also closed. Although it encouraged its citizens to exercise caution, the French embassy stayed open.
US Ambassador to Kyiv Bridget Brink wrote on X: "We continue to encourage US citizens to remain vigilant, monitor official Ukrainian sources for updates, and be prepared to shelter in place if an air alert is announced,".
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that "panic-inducing messages circulated today only help Russia," but advised Ukrainians to comply with air raid warnings.
"However many brutal and treacherous attacks by Russia we have endured... it is always important to pay attention to air raid warnings. We have a neighbor that is insane" Zelenskyy said in a video later on Wednesday.
