CHISINAU, 26 February. /TASS/. The OSCE is partially evacuating mission personnel from Ukraine to Moldova amid the aggravation of the situation in that country. Corr. TASS on Saturday the press secretary of the OSCE mission in Moldova Nino Sukhitashvili.
“This decision was made in connection with the deteriorating security situation in Ukraine. They will remain in Moldova for some time,” Sukhitashvili said. According to the Moldovan government, a convoy of 80 vehicles, escorted by armored vehicles, is currently crossing the Moldovan border.
Earlier, the agency reported about the evacuation of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission (SMM) from the territory of Ukraine to Moldova. Archyde.com. On February 24, OSCE Secretary General Helga Schmid decided to withdraw the SMM monitors from the country due to the Russian military operation in Ukraine.
On Thursday morning, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that he had decided on a special military operation against Ukraine. In a televised address to the Russians, he said that the circumstances “require decisive and immediate action, the people’s republics of Donbass turned to Russia with a request for help.” According to the Russian leader, all responsibility for the bloodshed will be on the conscience of the ruling regime in Ukraine. He called on the Ukrainian military not to follow the criminal orders of the Ukrainian authorities, lay down their arms and go home.