The French Ambassador to Kiev, Etienne de Ponsin, advised his compatriots who are in Ukraine to stock up on everything they need because of the tense situation in the country, this is stated in his official statement.

However, he did not recommend fellow citizens to leave Ukraine.

As the ambassador pointed out, the past few days have not led to the expected de-escalation.

“We are now advising French travelers to postpone ‘all travel to Ukraine’ (and not just ‘non-essential travel’),” he said.

The diplomat also called on compatriots to be more vigilant. In addition, he stated that they needed to have all personal documents ready.

“We recommend that you, for practical purposes, prepare supplies of water, food and warm clothes, and also make sure that the tank of your car is full,” said De Poncin.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden turned to Americans in Ukraine and asked them to leave the country "right now" because of the likelihood of an escalation of the conflict. The State Department also addressed the citizens of the United States. The agency warned that in the event of hostilities that could begin "at any moment", the US authorities will not be able to evacuate fellow citizens.

Shortly after these statements, a number of countries announced the start of the evacuation of their diplomats from Kiev and recommended that their fellow citizens leave Ukraine.

The story of a possible “Russian invasion” of Ukraine has been actively promoted in the West since mid-autumn last year. The US has consistently pointed to a supposed increase in Russia's presence near Ukraine's borders, threatening Moscow with new sanctions if it escalates. At the same time, the Kremlin has more than once directly denied any plans to attack Ukraine, on the contrary, pointing to the possible preparation of a military operation in the Donbass by Kiev.

bbabo.Net