Governments urge citizens to leave Ukraine amid fears of invasion

Tensions over a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine were mounting as more than a dozen countries have urged their citizens to leave Ukraine. Some have also evacuated diplomatic staff and their families.

Among the countries that have called on their nationals to leave Ukraine are the United States, Germany, Italy, Britain, Ireland, Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Canada, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Australia, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

Last Thursday, US President Joe Biden called Russian leader Vladimir Putin to warn him that a further incursion into Ukraine would lead to a “severe” response.

The US has also pulled some 150 troops who were training Ukrainian soldiers out of the country, citing an abundance of caution. And Dutch airline KLM announced it would stop flying to Ukraine.

The Russian military has been amassing troops near the country’s border with Ukraine, sparking a diplomatic crisis and heightening fears in the US and Europe that Russia may be preparing for an imminent invasion of its neighbour. Russia, however, has denied that it is planning to invade Ukraine.