Planning for the evacuation of American citizens from a particular country is always carried out in case of unforeseen situations, White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki told reporters, RIA Novosti reports.
“We are doing intensive contingency planning, as is usually done … when the security situation in any country around the world escalates,” Psaki said, referring the media to the State Department for details.
Earlier today, Bloomberg reported, citing sources, that the United States is considering the possibility of evacuating the families of its diplomats from the territory of Ukraine due to the pulling of Russian troops to the border. According to the prepared evacuation plan, diplomats can leave the country voluntarily, and the evacuation of their family members is considered mandatory. The decision to evacuate would not imply US confidence that Russia would “invade” Ukraine, “but simply reflect precautions as tensions rise,” the agency noted.
On January 21, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken in Geneva. The Secretary of State following the meeting said that Russia should withdraw troops from the borders with Ukraine to confirm the absence of plans to “invade” the country.
Materials about Russia’s alleged plans to invade Ukraine appeared in the Western media last fall. Thus, Bloomberg, citing US intelligence data, argued that about 100,000 Russian soldiers could invade the territory of the republic from three directions at once. In addition, the media still publish reports of the accumulation of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine. At the same time, the Kremlin and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have repeatedly denied information that Russia has such plans. They noted that the country moves troops at its own discretion within its territory and is not going to attack anyone.