The state department said on Sunday that it had ordered family members of US embassy personnel in Kiev, Ukraine, to leave the country amid increasing concerns about a possible Russian invasion.

The embassy will remain open for now, senior state department officials said in a briefing with reporters, but some diplomats have been authorised to depart as well.

The state department also cited the possibility of Russian military action in keeping its travel risk advisory at Level 4, the highest category, urging US citizens to not travel to Ukraine. The advisory was raised to that level last month because of concerns about Covid-19.

The state department officials said that the moves were made “out of an abundance of caution”, but that the US would “not be in a position” to evacuate US citizens should Russia invade Ukraine. Russia has stationed about 100,000 troops near the border of the neighbouring country.

“US citizens in Ukraine should be aware that Russian military action anywhere in Ukraine would severely impact the US embassy’s ability to provide consular services, including assistance to US citizens in departing Ukraine,” the state department said in its travel advisory.

Visa processing and most other consular services at the embassy will continue for the time being, officials said.

The embassy is one of the larger American missions in Europe. It has about 900 employees total, the vast majority of them Ukrainians, some of whom have been with the mission since it opened three decades ago. The state department officials said that they did not know how many American citizens are currently in Ukraine.

Officials said they would review in 30 days whether family members had left and whether authorised personnel had chosen to leave. They urged all other Americans in Ukraine to use private transportation options to leave as soon as possible. The US embassy in neighbouring Minsk issued a new alert also urging Americans to stay away from public demonstrations.

(New York Times News Service)