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DUBAI: The Saudi Arabian embassy in Kiev on Saturday have urged Saudi citizens to quickly contact the embassy to facilitate their departure from Ukraine as tensions mount with Russia.
The embassy also advised citizens to postpone any plans to visit Ukraine, state television reported.
Many countries on Saturday have issued a notice advising against traveling to Ukraine amid heightened tensions between Kyiv and Moscow.
Arab countries such as Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and Iraq have warned citizens from traveling to Ukraine and urged those present in the country to depart immediately.
Bahrain called on its citizens not to travel to Ukraine at the present time, and urged its nationals who are in Ukraine to leave for their own safety.
British nationals were also informed that those who choose to stay in Ukraine should not expect a military evacuation if conflict with Russia ensues, junior defence minister James Heappey told Sky News on Saturday.
“British nationals should leave Ukraine immediately by any means possible and they should not expect, as they saw in the summer with Afghanistan, that there would be any possibility of a military evacuation,” he said.
Dutch foreign minister Wopke Hoekstra called on Dutch citizens on Saturday to leave Ukraine as soon as possible due to the security situation there.
Dutch flag carrier KLM said that it was suspending flights to Ukraine until further notice.
“The next flight to the capital Kyiv is scheduled for tonight, but will not be operated,” the Netherlands’ main airline said in a statement, adding the decision followed a “red alert” travel advisory and an in-depth security analysis.
Germany on Saturday advised German citizens without an “imperative” reason to stay in Ukraine to leave, saying a “military conflict cannot be excluded” after Washington warned a Russian invasion could begin “any day.”
“Tensions between Russia and Ukraine have again shot up in the last few days due to the massive movements of Russian military units near the Ukrainian border,” the German foreign ministry said.
“If you are currently in Ukraine, make sure that your presence is imperative. If that is not the case, please leave the country for the time being.”
Germany also said it was reducing its diplomatic representation in Ukraine. “We will keep our embassy open in Kyiv but reduce diplomatic staff,” said Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock during a visit to Egypt.
Belgium joined Germany in becoming the latest Western countries to advise their citizens to leave Ukraine.
The European Union, however, said it is not withdrawing its diplomatic presence from Ukraine, its foreign policy chief announced.
“The EU and its member states are coordinating their actions in view of the current threats on Ukraine. Our diplomatic missions are not closing. They remain in Kyiv and continue to operate in support to EU citizens and in cooperation with the Ukrainian authorities,” Josep Borrell said in a statement.
“We recall that any further military aggression against Ukraine will have massive consequences and severe cost in response,” Borrell said.
Americans in Ukraine were told Friday they should leave within 48 hours as Russia could attack at any time, likely with an air assault, the White House said.
However, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused the Washington of seeking to provoke a conflict in Ukraine.