The situation is tense in Ukraine. Germany has called for an “urgent” leave of the country this Saturday. “We warn once morest any travel to Ukraine,” says a press release from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which “urgently urges German nationals” who are there to “leave the country without delay”. “A military conflict is possible at any time,” warns the ministry.
The German company Lufthansa will suspend its scheduled flights to Kiev and Odessa from Monday until the end of February, a spokesman for the German airline announced on Saturday. “The safety of our passengers and crew members is our top priority,” he stressed, adding that flights remained planned for Saturday and Sunday, to allow people who wish to leave the country. The company will continue to operate connections with the city of Lviv in western Ukraine.
France also asks its nationals to leave
France now recommends that all its nationals leave Ukraine and calls on those in the most exposed areas in the east of the country to leave “without delay”. “It is recommended that all French nationals whose stay in Ukraine has no compelling reason to leave the country”, underlines French diplomacy. Those who are “in the oblasts of Kharkiv, Lugansk and Donetsk” as well as in the Dnipro region are “called upon to “leave these areas without delay”.
Russian troops massed on Ukraine’s border are “deploying” and “preparing to hit” that country, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said during a visit to Lithuania. “They are deploying and getting ready to strike,” the US official said, adding that the Russian military “are moving to the right positions to be able to carry out an attack”.