The US is preparing to evacuate its embassy in Kyiv amid fears of an imminent Russian invasion of Ukraine.
An announcement for all staff at the embassy to leave the country is expected early Saturday from the State Department, US officials told The Associated Press.
The families of US staffers at the embassy had been ordered to leave last month, but non-essential employees were left to decide on their own if they wanted to go or stay.
Some diplomats will be relocated to the far western portion of Ukraine, near the border with NATO ally Poland, so the US retains a diplomatic presence in the country, according to the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin are also scheduled to speak by phone Saturday.
US officials have warned warn that Russia may launch an invasion of Ukraine within days.
Biden’s national security adviser Jake Sullivan on Friday told Americans still in Ukraine to get out within “24 to 48 hours,” warning that “there is no prospect of a US military evacuation in the event of a Russian invasion.”
The Pentagon announced Friday it is sending 3,000 additional troops from the 82nd Airborne Division who will join 1,700 others who were ordered to Poland last week to bolster the NATO ally’s defense. They will begin departing Fort Bragg, North Carolina in the next few days.
Their mission will be to train host nation forces and provide deterrence but not to engage in combat or enter Ukraine.
The deployments are a part of a series of maneuvers that also include about 1,000 US soldiers based in Germany shifting to Romania, another NATO ally that shares a border with Ukraine. Another 300 US soldiers of the 18th Airborne Corps headquarters unit have arrived in Germany, under the command of Lt. Gen. Michael E. Kurilla.
“All told, these 5,000 additional personnel comprise a highly mobile and flexible force, capable of multiple missions,” a senior defense official said. “They are being deployed to reassure our NATO allies, deter any potential aggression against NATO’s eastern flank, train with host-nation forces, and contribute to a wide range of contingencies.”
Roughly 80,000 American troops are currently deployed throughout Europe at permanent stations and on rotational deployments.
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