A Russian delegation arrived at the residency of the U.S. Consul General in Istanbul, starting the second round of Russian-U.S. talks, the state news agency TASS reported on Feb. 27.
"Out of an abundance of caution, the Embassy will be closed, and Embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place," the statement read.
Robert Shonov, a former employee of the U.S. consulate in Vladivostok, was detained in 2023 and accused of passing information on Russia’s war in Ukraine to the U.S. He was sentenced to four years and 10 months in prison on Nov. 1.
Russia’s Ambassador to the United States, Anatoly Antonov, returned to Moscow on Oct. 5 as his term in Washington concluded, according to state media reports. Antonov's departure marks the end of his assignment during a period of increasingly hostile relations between the two nations.
The embassy did not specify what kind of threats they referred to, or who might be behind them. The U.K.'s Embassy in Russia also repeated the advisory issued by the U.S.
Editor's Note: Chargé d’Affaires Kristina Kvien has served as acting United States ambassador to Ukraine since January 2020. A week into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Kyiv Independent talked to U.S. Chargé d’Affaires Kristina Kvien about sanctions, Ukrainians courage and a no-fly zone over Ukraine.
A Sword of Damocles once again hangs over Ukraine. Since November, Russia has been amassing troops along Ukraine's eastern border, demanding sweeping concessions from the NATO alliance and threatening to plunge Ukraine back into Russia's sphere of influence once again. Many Western experts and governments now fear military incursion by
The U.S. State Department has authorized the departure of non-essential employees and the family members of diplomats stationed at the Kyiv embassy, on Jan. 23, citing potential Russian military escalation. “There are reports Russia is planning significant military action against Ukraine," the statement reads. "The security conditions, particularly along
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