The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv temporarily closed its doors on Wednesday, November 20, 2024, following a warning about a potential Russian airstrike targeting the Ukrainian capital.
The embassy stated that it had received “specific information” regarding an impending attack and decided to exercise an “abundance of caution” by calling off operations for the day.
The closure coincided with similar preventive measures taken by several European embassies, including those of Italy, Spain, and Greece. The U.K., however, kept its embassy in Kyiv open.
In a message posted on its website, the U.S. Embassy advised U.S. citizens in Ukraine to be prepared for an air alert, urging them to identify shelters and follow the guidance of Ukrainian authorities in case of an emergency. “The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv has received specific information of a potential significant air attack on November 20. Out of an abundance of caution, the Embassy will be closed, and Embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place,” the statement read.
The embassy closure comes at a time when tensions are rising between Russia and Ukraine, particularly after U.S. President Joe Biden’s recent decision to allow Ukraine to launch strikes on Russian territory using U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles.
This decision was a swing from the U.S. policy, which had previously restricted the use of these long-range weapons to Ukrainian territory. However, the change followed reports of Russian deployment of North Korean soldiers to the frontlines.
The announcement to approve the use of ATACMS missiles was made on November 17, 2024. The missiles were used for the first time on November 19 when Ukraine launched attacks on military targets in the Belgorod and Bryansk regions of Russia.
These strikes were seen as a direct response to Russian incursions into Ukrainian territory. Russia confirmed the missile strikes on Russian soil, but Ukraine’s Security Council head, Andrii Kovalenko, accused Russia of spreading disinformation about the events to sow panic further.
Russian President Vladimir Putin responded swiftly to the U.S. policy shift. He signed an updated version of Russia’s nuclear doctrine, which lowers the threshold for using nuclear weapons in response to conventional attacks. This doctrine allows for a nuclear response even in the event of a traditional strike supported by a nuclear-armed state—an apparent reference to Ukraine’s missile strikes backed by the U.S. The Russian government framed this as a direct response to Biden’s approval of ATACMS strikes.
As the war nears its 1,000th day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky condemned the escalation, particularly a Russian missile attack on the northeastern Sumy region that killed seven people, including a child, on November 18., 2024. Zelensky vowed that Ukraine would continue to resist, stating, “Every new Russian strike only confirms Putin’s true intentions. He wants the war to continue; he is not interested in talking about peace.”
In addition to the missile strikes, Russia has stepped up its air and drone attacks on Ukrainian energy infrastructure as winter approaches.
Analysts predict that the Russian military is stockpiling powerful long-range missiles and preparing for a renewed effort to cripple Ukraine’s power grid.
In response to the precautionary closure of embassies in Kyiv, including those of Spain, Italy, and Greece, Ukrainian officials criticized the actions, accusing Russia of using embassy closures as part of a more extensive psychological warfare campaign aimed at creating panic.
Andrii Kovalenko, head of Ukraine’s Center for Countering Disinformation, denounced the closure of diplomatic missions.
“They are trying to stir panic against the background of the closure of embassies,” Kovalenko wrote on his Telegram channel.
A statement from the Ukrainian intelligence agency read, “A message about the threat of a ‘particularly massive’ rocket-bomb attack on Ukrainian cities is being spread through messengers and social networks, allegedly on behalf of the GUR [Ukrainian military intelligence],”
“The enemy, unable to subjugate Ukrainians by force, resorts to measures of intimidation and psychological pressure on society,” it added.
While many international conventions have long banned landmines due to their potential to harm civilians long after conflicts end, the Biden administration has decided to provide nonpersistent landmines to Ukraine, which self-detonate after a set period.
U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin defended the decision, explaining that the mines would be controlled and nonpersistent, reducing the long-term threat to civilians. “The land mines that we would look to provide them would be land mines that are not persistent, you know, we can control when they would self-activate, self-detonate and that makes it far more safer eventually than the things that they are creating on their own,” Austin stated on November 20, 2024, during a trip to Laos.
However, this has drawn criticism from international organizations concerned about the potential civilian harm of landmines, even if they are designed to be nonpersistent.
Currently, Western leaders have dismissed mainly Russia’s nuclear rhetoric as an attempt to deter further support for Ukraine. NATO officials and U.S. lawmakers have vowed to continue providing aid to Ukraine, including advanced weaponry, to help repel Russian advances, particularly in the eastern Donetsk region.
