US embassy in Kyiv closes after warning of 'significant air attack'
The US embassy in Kyiv closed on Wednesday after they received "specific information of a potential air attack" as tensions in Ukraine and Russia continue to escalate.
It comes as the US Defence Secretary confirmed President Joe Biden authorised the sending of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine in another major policy shift.
This is just days after the US gave Ukraine permission to fire long-range US missiles at targets in Russia for the first time.
The UK government said they are examining the security situation for British diplomats in Kyiv "incredibly closely" and confirmed the embassy would remain open.
In a post on X, the US Travel State Department said: "The US Embassy in Kyiv received specific information of a potential significant air attack on November 20.
"The Embassy will be closed and recommends US citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced."
Speaking on Times Radio, Science Secretary Peter Kyle said: "(I) can reassure you is that we are looking at the situation incredibly closely.
“We have very good relationships with the government in Kyiv and with the United States. We will do everything we can to keep British citizens safe."
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that the option of freezing the Ukraine conflict would not suit Russia, although it restated that President Vladimir Putin is open to negotiations.
"The president has also already said that some kind of freezing of this conflict will not suit us. It is important for us to achieve our goals, which are well known to everyone", Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
The announcement of anti-personnel mines for Ukraine, especially with only weeks left in the Biden administration, is a change in direction on what had been a long-standing policy.
The US intends for Kyiv to use the anti-personnel mines in the eastern part of the country, where Russian troops have made slow and steady progress against Ukrainian defensive lines.
They expect Ukraine to use these anti-personnel mines to strengthen defensive lines within sovereign Ukrainian territory and have sought assurances that the risk to civilians will be limited.
Until now, the Biden administration had not provided Ukraine with anti-personnel mines over concerns about the long-lasting danger they may pose.
Human rights groups have long criticised their use because they can kill indiscriminately and can remain armed for years after the conflict in which they were initially used has ended.
The type of mines the US provides to Ukraine will be “non-persistent,” according to the officials, meaning they have an internal mechanism to shorten the lifespan of the trigger.
The mines are designed to become inert after a set period of time ranging from as little as four hours to two weeks, the officials said.
Russia has deployed anti-personnel mines and anti-tank mines since the earliest days of the war. As Russian forces advanced into Ukraine and established their own defensive lines, they established minefields to slow any Ukraine counterattack.
On Wednesday, a South Korean official said North Korea recently supplied additional artillery systems to Russia to support its war efforts against Ukraine, while some of the thousands of North Korean troops deployed in Russia have begun engaging in combat.
The Russian military claimed Ukraine fired six US-supplied long-range missiles into Bryansk region overnight on Tuesday.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow would respond accordingly to the attack, which marked a “qualitatively new phase of Western war against Russia".
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed the strike could be grounds for a nuclear response from Russia, given President Vladimir Putin has updated the country's doctrine.
At a press conference during the G20 summit in Brazil on Tuesday, Starmer said: “There’s irresponsible rhetoric coming from Russia, and that is not going to deter our support for Ukraine.”
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