Request evacuation of diplomatic staff from the US embassy in Ukraine

The US government office in Ukraine has asked the White House to approve the departure of all non-essential embassy personnel and their families as soon as possible, various sources have told CNN.

In turn, the Fox News chain assures that the State Department has ordered the families of diplomatic personnel to leave the country as of Monday. The White House has not issued a public statement yet.

Sources close to the Ukrainian government have claimed that the United States has informed the authorities in Kiev that the withdrawal of its diplomatic staff from the country would begin next week, in a decision that has caused concern in the Ukrainian government.

The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, spoke a few days ago with the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, to whom he conveyed his opinion that the departure of the staff would be an exaggerated decision that would weaken the confidence of the Ukrainian government.

The State Department has not confirmed this information and has limited itself to clarifying that they are creating "contingency plans in the event that security is violated."

In addition, John F. Kirby, press secretary of the Pentagon, has announced that as of Monday, NATO allies, including the United States, will begin the maritime exercise "Neptune Strike '22" in the Mediterranean Sea.

These drills, which will last 12 days, had been paralyzed given the current situation with Russia, however, the Atlantic Alliance has decided to start the operation. Neptune Strike '22 aims to show NATO's capacity in the maritime field in the face of an attack; The secretary clarified before repeating that these activities had been planned since 2020.

In addition, he insisted that taking into account the high tension that exists between the countries and after discussing it with the allied countries, they have decided to start the maritime operation.