The U.S. State Department announced on Wednesday that it has closed its embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, due to a potential "significant air attack."
"Embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place," the State Department said. "The U.S. Embassy recommends U.S. citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced."
The move comes a day after Russia accused Ukraine of launching an attack with American-made missiles. Ukraine’s defense ministry did not admit to using the long-range missiles but did confirm that it hit a military weapons facility in Bryansk.
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President Joe Biden authorized on Sunday for Ukraine to use the missiles to strike deeper inside Russia — a move he resisted for months. Scripps News also confirmed with a U.S. official that the Biden administration will provide Ukraine with non-persistent antipersonnel land mines. They are meant to blunt the advancement of Russian ground forces.
Ukraine marked 1,000 days since the Russian invasion on Tuesday. In a speech to European leaders, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said maximum
pressure should be applied on Russia.
"Putin does not value people or rules; he values only money and power," he said. "These are the things we must take away from him to restore peace."
The U.S. estimates Russia is losing about 1,200 soldiers a day. Ukraine has not revealed how many soldiers it has lost since it was invaded in 2022, but U.S. officials estimate the number is around 60,000.
