Political | Process

US shifts Ukraine embassy operations farther away from Russian border.

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• Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that the U.S. is “in the process of temporarily relocating our Embassy operations in Ukraine from our Embassy in Kyiv to Lviv due to the dramatic acceleration in the buildup of Russian forces.

• Lviv is close to Ukraine’s border with Poland, where thousands of American troops are bring deployed.

• “The Embassy will remain engaged with the Ukrainian government, coordinating diplomatic engagement in Ukraine,” Blinken added.

“We are also continuing our intensive diplomatic efforts to deescalate the crisis.”

• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zalenskyy, in a speech to his nation Monday, said this upcoming Wednesday will be the “day of the attack.”

• “We are told that February 16 will be the day of attack. We will make it a union day,” he said. “The decree has already been signed. This [Wednesday] afternoon, we will hang national flags, put on blue-yellow ribbons, and show the world our unity.”

• German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, following a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv Monday, said “in the event of a military escalation, we are prepared to impose very far-reaching and effective sanctions [on Russia] in coordination with our allies,” the dpa news agency reports.

• Scholz also reportedly promised Ukraine an additional $170 million in financial aid.

• “There are no sensible reasons for such a military deployment,” Scholz said about Russia, according to the Associated Press.

• The German leader is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday.