US embassy in Kyiv shuts down over anticipated air attack

Kyiv, Ukraine: The US embassy in Kyiv has received information of a potential significant air attack, forcing its closure on Wednesday, the US Department of State Consular Affairs said in a statement.

“Out of an abundance of caution, the embassy will be closed, and embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place,” the department said in a statement published on the website of the US embassy in Kyiv.

This image was made from a video posted by a Telegram channel affiliated with the Ukrainian military reportedly shows US-supplied ATACMS missiles being fired from an undisclosed location in Ukraine.Credit: AP

“The US Embassy recommends US citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced.”

The warning comes a day after Ukraine used US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory, taking advantage of newly granted permission from the outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden on the war’s 1000th day.

Russia had been warning the West for months that if Washington allowed Ukraine to fire US, British and French missiles deep into Russia, Moscow would consider those NATO members to be directly involved in the war in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said in October that Moscow would respond to Ukraine’s strikes using US-made weapons deep into Russia.

On Tuesday, Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a broader range of conventional attacks, with nuclear risks rising amid the highest tensions between Russia and West in more than half a century.

The developments marked a worrying new escalation in the conflict that has repeatedly ratcheted up international tensions. US officials recently expressed dismay at Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops to help it fight Ukraine, while Moscow seethed when Washington eased restrictions on the ATACMS in recent days.

This image was made from a video posted by a Telegram channel affiliated with the Ukrainian military.Credit: AP

The 1000-day mark has magnified scrutiny of how the war is unfolding and how it might end, amid signs that a turning point may be coming with US President-elect Donald Trump entering the White House in about two months. Trump has pledged to swiftly end the war and has criticised the amount the US has spent on supporting Ukraine.

Analysts say neither Russia nor Ukraine can sustain the war for a long time, though Russia is able to keep going longer due to its vast resources.

Ukraine’s forces are under severe Russian pressure on the battlefield at places on the approximately 1000-kilometre front line where its army is stretched thin. Ukrainian civilians, meanwhile, have repeatedly been clobbered by Russian drones and missiles.

On Tuesday evening (AEDT), Ukraine claimed it hit a military weapons depot in Russia’s in the middle of the night, though it didn’t specify what weapons it used. The Ukrainian General Staff said multiple explosions and detonations were heard in the targeted area around Karachev.

Asked at a news conference if Ukraine had struck the Bryansk region ammunition depot with ATACMS, Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelensky, declined to provide any details. However, he said: “Ukraine has long-range capabilities, including domestically produced long-range drones … and now we have ATACMS as well.”

Ukrainian soldiers guard the sky with a machine gun on a road in Kyiv during a Russian missile and drone attack.Credit: AP

In a statement carried by Russian news agencies, the Russian Defence Ministry said the military shot down five ATACMS missiles and damaged one more. The fragments fell on the territory of an unspecified military facility, the ministry said. The falling debris sparked a fire but didn’t cause any damage or casualties, it said.

Neither side’s claims could be independently verified.

Karachev is roughly 115 kilometres from the Russia-Ukraine border. During the war, Ukraine has been able to reach much deeper into the vast country – but with drones rather than missiles. For instance, Russian officials have reported intercepting Ukrainian drones over Moscow, which is about 500 kilometres from the border and most recently Izhevsk, a city about 1450 kilometres from the frontier.

Earlier, Ukrainian officials reported a third Russian strike in as many days on a residential area in Ukraine killed at least 12 people, including a child.

“Each new attack by Russia only confirms Putin’s true intentions. He wants the war to continue. Talks about peace are not interesting to him. We must force Russia to a just peace by force,” Zelensky said.

Zelensky told European Union MPs in a speech via video link that Russia has deployed about 11,000 North Korean troops along Ukraine’s borders and that the number could swell to 100,000.

He appeared in person at the Ukrainian parliament, where he presented what he called a “resilience plan” to dig in against the relentless Russian onslaught. He said he expected pivotal moments to occur in the war next year.

The plan outlines new approaches to army management, including the creation of a military ombudsman position and a new system of handling military contracts.

AP, Reuters

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