Warnings of a large air attack threat on the Ukrainian capital on Wednesday come a day after Ukraine used US-supplied ATACMS to strike Russian territory.
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The US embassy in Kyiv has temporarily shuttered fearing an imminent “significant air attack” in the Ukrainian capital, according to a statement published on its website.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the embassy will be closed, and embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place.” the statement said, adding that US citizens in Kyiv should also be prepared to shelter.
Other Western embassies have followed suit, with Italy, Spain and Greece all announcing they would close their buildings in Kyiv after the US received “specific information” about an attack.
The US embassy has warned of significant strikes on Ukrainian territory before, on New Year and around Ukraine’s independence day.
The warning nevertheless comes at a point of increased tensions. On Tuesday, Ukraine reportedly used six US-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems, known as ATACMS, to strike Russian territory for the first time after US President Joe Biden reportedly green-lighted the weapons following months of hesitation.
The Kremlin has long warned that the use of such weapons by Ukraine supplied by its foreign allies would mark a serious escalation in the war.
In response, Russia lowered its threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a broader range of conventional attacks on Tuesday.
On Biden’s decision to authorise ATACMS, Vladimir Putin’s press secretary Dmitry Peskov said Washington was “adding fuel to the fire”.
South Korea’s spy agency also reported on Wednesday that North Korea supplied additional artillery systems, including 170mm self-propelled guns and 240mm multiple rocket launch systems, to Russia to support its war efforts against Ukraine.
US, South Korean and Ukrainian intelligence have confirmed thousands of North Korean soldiers are currently in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces launched a surprise insurgency against Russia earlier this year.
Additional reports indicate Biden has authorised the provision of antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine on Wednesday, the latest move by the outgoing US administration in bolstering Kyiv’s war effort before Donald Trump returns to the White House in January.
The mines are “non persistent”, meaning they become inert after a pre-set period of time, and Ukraine has confirmed they would not use them in densely populated areas, according to reports.
