The US embassy in Kyiv is scheduled to be evacuated as Western intelligence sources warn that a Russian invasion of Ukraine is becoming increasingly likely.
According to US sources, the State Department plans to notify early Saturday that all American workers at the Kyiv embassy will be ordered to leave the country in preparation for a possible Russian invasion. The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.
The agency had previously ordered the families of US embassy employees in Kyiv to leave the country. It had, however, left it up to the decision of non-essential workers to leave. The new step comes as the United States has increased its warnings about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly about the matter, said a small number of US diplomats could be relocated to Ukraine's far west, near the NATO ally Poland's border, in order for the US to maintain a diplomatic presence in the country.
The Pentagon announced on Friday that it will send additional 3,000 combat troops to Poland, joining 1,700 already stationed there as a show of American support to NATO partners concerned about Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
According to a defence official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of Pentagon ground rules, the additional soldiers will leave their station at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in the coming days and should be in Poland by early next week. They are the 82nd Airborne Division's infantry brigade's surviving elements.
Their purpose in Ukraine will be to train and give deterrent rather than to engage in battle.
President Joe Biden's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, issued a public warning for all American people in Ukraine to evacuate as quickly as possible. According to Sullivan, Russian President Vladimir Putin might issue an order to invade Ukraine at any time.
In addition to the US troops heading to Poland, about 1,000 US soldiers stationed in Germany will be deployed to Romania in a similar reassuring mission to a NATO member. In addition, 300 soldiers from the 18th Airborne Corps headquarters unit, led by Lt. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla, have arrived in Germany.
The US troops will train alongside host-nation forces but will not be allowed to invade Ukraine for any reason.
Around 80,000 US troops are already stationed in Europe on permanent bases and on rotational missions.