Faced with the threat of an invasion of Ukraine by Russia, in less than three days, many states called on their nationals to leave the country. Others have reduced the presence of their diplomatic staff on site. Psychological warfare is gaining ground.
The United States was the first to sound the alarm, on Thursday, February 10, when Joe Biden, the president of this country, made a disturbing statement in an interview with the NBC channel. “American citizens should go, they should go now. We are dealing with one of the largest militaries in the world,” the president said.
The highest US authority added that “things could quickly get out of control” and assured that it would not send soldiers on the ground in Ukraine, not even to evacuate Americans in the event of a Russian invasion, because “a world war” could start.
Since then, many countries have followed in the footsteps of the Americans. Among those who have called their nationals to leave Ukraine in recent days are Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, Norway, Australia, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
Meanwhile, the airline KLM announced on Saturday, February 12, that it will suspend flights to Ukraine until further notice. However, Kiev has vowed to keep its airspace open despite the threat of a Russian invasion. But according to the national press, planes flying in Ukrainian airspace will no longer be protected by international insurance companies from February 14, which will lead to cancellations.
“These chain reactions are impressive, it’s starting to be too much,” Tetyana Ogarkova, head of the international department of the NGO Ukraine Crisis Media Center, said in an interview with France 24. “Such hasty and massive departures in a few days prove that there is a certain urgency, that the threat is very real and that adds to the atmosphere of anxiety,” she added.
A different case is that of Paris, which wants to believe in a diplomatic solution. French authorities are one of the few European forces that have not asked their nearly 1,000 citizens living in Ukraine to leave the country. The Quai d’Orsay, a Parisian quay located on the left bank of the Seine River in the city’s 7th arrondissement, simply advised “postponing all trips to Ukraine” and the French Embassy called on its citizens there to “stock up on water, food, clothes” and gasoline.
Withdrawal of OSCE observers
Added to the evacuation advice was the relocation of several Western embassies from Kiev to Lviv, a city located in western Ukraine. The United States, followed by Canada and Australia, have relocated most of their employees there to maintain a small consular presence.
The institutions of the European Union, for their part, have recommended that their non-essential staff from the representation in Kiev go to telework from abroad. And Romania, which did not urge its citizens to leave, preferred to withdraw non-essential staff from its embassy in Kiev, while Israel decided to “evacuate the families of diplomats and staff from its embassy.”
According to Tetyana Ogarkova, “the worst thing was the announcement of the withdrawal of most of the observers from the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) observation mission, present in the gray zone, (which separates the positions Ukrainians and separatists in Donbass). They were present from the beginning of the conflict and represented an important source of information about what was happening in the combat zone,” she said.
Added to this is also the departure of some of the Canadian trainers and 160 US soldiers who were training the Ukrainian forces. Some 200 Canadians have been deployed since 2015 to Ukraine as part of this mission. A decision justified by the fact that an armed confrontation between Russian soldiers and soldiers belonging to a NATO member country would ignite the gunpowder and risk degenerating into a world conflict.
Exits in favor of psychological warfare
Ukraine is surrounded by its northern, eastern and southern borders. Russia has more than 130,000 soldiers spread out across the border, as they carry out large-scale military exercises in neighboring Belarus and in the Black Sea. “We don’t know from which side the Russian army could attack and the population is tense, it’s a bit like waiting for a terrorist attack,” explains Tetyana Ogarkova, for whom these chain outings contribute to fueling the psychological war in Ukraine.
“The position of the Americans when they began to warn of the presence, in November, of Russian troops on the border was consistent, but these chain reactions of a few days are beginning to generate panic and this can also have negative consequences,” added the statement. head of the international department of the NGO Crisis Media Center of Ukraine.
Many Ukrainians consider the position of US President Joe Biden to be too alarmist, including the Ukrainian authorities. President Volodymyr Zelensky also called the transfer of several foreign embassies to the West a “big mistake”.
A few days earlier, he had made it known that he did not appreciate repeated warnings from the United States that a Russian attack was imminent. “Right now, our enemies’ best friend is panic in our country. And all this information (about a possible attack) only generates panic and does not help us,” said the president.
No mass exodus of foreigners
“Many Ukrainians feel abandoned,” says Tetyana Ogarkova, putting things into perspective. “This mainly affects the inhabitants of Kiev, who are contemplating migrating to their neighbors, which does not necessarily happen in the villages.” And she recalled that if the personnel of diplomatic missions leave the country, “millions of Ukrainians remain.”
France 24 correspondent Gulliver Gragg said that according to information collected by border guards, many Poles left Ukraine by car. However, given the tickets available at the Kiev airport, “there is no mass exodus (of foreigners),” according to the journalist, who consulted various sources.
Adapted from its French version
Faced with the threat of an invasion of Ukraine by Russia, in less than three days, many states called on their nationals to leave the country. Others have reduced the presence of their diplomatic staff on site. Psychological warfare is gaining ground.
The United States was the first to sound the alarm, on Thursday, February 10, when Joe Biden, the president of this country, made a disturbing statement in an interview with the NBC channel. “American citizens should go, they should go now. We are dealing with one of the largest militaries in the world,” the president said.
The highest US authority added that “things could quickly get out of control” and assured that it would not send soldiers on the ground in Ukraine, not even to evacuate Americans in the event of a Russian invasion, because “a world war” could start.
Since then, many countries have followed in the footsteps of the Americans. Among those who have called their nationals to leave Ukraine in recent days are Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, Norway, Australia, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
Meanwhile, the airline KLM announced on Saturday, February 12, that it will suspend flights to Ukraine until further notice. However, Kiev has vowed to keep its airspace open despite the threat of a Russian invasion. But according to the national press, planes flying in Ukrainian airspace will no longer be protected by international insurance companies from February 14, which will lead to cancellations.
“These chain reactions are impressive, it’s starting to be too much,” Tetyana Ogarkova, head of the international department of the NGO Ukraine Crisis Media Center, said in an interview with France 24. “Such hasty and massive departures in a few days prove that there is a certain urgency, that the threat is very real and that adds to the atmosphere of anxiety,” she added.
A different case is that of Paris, which wants to believe in a diplomatic solution. French authorities are one of the few European forces that have not asked their nearly 1,000 citizens living in Ukraine to leave the country. The Quai d’Orsay, a Parisian quay located on the left bank of the Seine River in the city’s 7th arrondissement, simply advised “postponing all trips to Ukraine” and the French Embassy called on its citizens there to “stock up on water, food, clothes” and gasoline.
Withdrawal of OSCE observers
Added to the evacuation advice was the relocation of several Western embassies from Kiev to Lviv, a city located in western Ukraine. The United States, followed by Canada and Australia, have relocated most of their employees there to maintain a small consular presence.
The institutions of the European Union, for their part, have recommended that their non-essential staff from the representation in Kiev go to telework from abroad. And Romania, which did not urge its citizens to leave, preferred to withdraw non-essential staff from its embassy in Kiev, while Israel decided to “evacuate the families of diplomats and staff from its embassy.”
According to Tetyana Ogarkova, “the worst thing was the announcement of the withdrawal of most of the observers from the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) observation mission, present in the gray zone, (which separates the positions Ukrainians and separatists in Donbass). They were present from the beginning of the conflict and represented an important source of information about what was happening in the combat zone,” she said.
Added to this is also the departure of some of the Canadian trainers and 160 US soldiers who were training the Ukrainian forces. Some 200 Canadians have been deployed since 2015 to Ukraine as part of this mission. A decision justified by the fact that an armed confrontation between Russian soldiers and soldiers belonging to a NATO member country would ignite the gunpowder and risk degenerating into a world conflict.
Exits in favor of psychological warfare
Ukraine is surrounded by its northern, eastern and southern borders. Russia has more than 130,000 soldiers spread out across the border, as they carry out large-scale military exercises in neighboring Belarus and in the Black Sea. “We don’t know from which side the Russian army could attack and the population is tense, it’s a bit like waiting for a terrorist attack,” explains Tetyana Ogarkova, for whom these chain outings contribute to fueling the psychological war in Ukraine.
“The position of the Americans when they began to warn of the presence, in November, of Russian troops on the border was consistent, but these chain reactions of a few days are beginning to generate panic and this can also have negative consequences,” added the statement. head of the international department of the NGO Crisis Media Center of Ukraine.
Many Ukrainians consider the position of US President Joe Biden to be too alarmist, including the Ukrainian authorities. President Volodymyr Zelensky also called the transfer of several foreign embassies to the West a “big mistake”.
A few days earlier, he had made it known that he did not appreciate repeated warnings from the United States that a Russian attack was imminent. “Right now, our enemies’ best friend is panic in our country. And all this information (about a possible attack) only generates panic and does not help us,” said the president.
No mass exodus of foreigners
“Many Ukrainians feel abandoned,” says Tetyana Ogarkova, putting things into perspective. “This mainly affects the inhabitants of Kiev, who are contemplating migrating to their neighbors, which does not necessarily happen in the villages.” And she recalled that if the personnel of diplomatic missions leave the country, “millions of Ukrainians remain.”
France 24 correspondent Gulliver Gragg said that according to information collected by border guards, many Poles left Ukraine by car. However, given the tickets available at the Kiev airport, “there is no mass exodus (of foreigners),” according to the journalist, who consulted various sources.
Adapted from its French version
Faced with the threat of an invasion of Ukraine by Russia, in less than three days, many states called on their nationals to leave the country. Others have reduced the presence of their diplomatic staff on site. Psychological warfare is gaining ground.
The United States was the first to sound the alarm, on Thursday, February 10, when Joe Biden, the president of this country, made a disturbing statement in an interview with the NBC channel. “American citizens should go, they should go now. We are dealing with one of the largest militaries in the world,” the president said.
The highest US authority added that “things could quickly get out of control” and assured that it would not send soldiers on the ground in Ukraine, not even to evacuate Americans in the event of a Russian invasion, because “a world war” could start.
Since then, many countries have followed in the footsteps of the Americans. Among those who have called their nationals to leave Ukraine in recent days are Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, Norway, Australia, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
Meanwhile, the airline KLM announced on Saturday, February 12, that it will suspend flights to Ukraine until further notice. However, Kiev has vowed to keep its airspace open despite the threat of a Russian invasion. But according to the national press, planes flying in Ukrainian airspace will no longer be protected by international insurance companies from February 14, which will lead to cancellations.
“These chain reactions are impressive, it’s starting to be too much,” Tetyana Ogarkova, head of the international department of the NGO Ukraine Crisis Media Center, said in an interview with France 24. “Such hasty and massive departures in a few days prove that there is a certain urgency, that the threat is very real and that adds to the atmosphere of anxiety,” she added.
A different case is that of Paris, which wants to believe in a diplomatic solution. French authorities are one of the few European forces that have not asked their nearly 1,000 citizens living in Ukraine to leave the country. The Quai d’Orsay, a Parisian quay located on the left bank of the Seine River in the city’s 7th arrondissement, simply advised “postponing all trips to Ukraine” and the French Embassy called on its citizens there to “stock up on water, food, clothes” and gasoline.
Withdrawal of OSCE observers
Added to the evacuation advice was the relocation of several Western embassies from Kiev to Lviv, a city located in western Ukraine. The United States, followed by Canada and Australia, have relocated most of their employees there to maintain a small consular presence.
The institutions of the European Union, for their part, have recommended that their non-essential staff from the representation in Kiev go to telework from abroad. And Romania, which did not urge its citizens to leave, preferred to withdraw non-essential staff from its embassy in Kiev, while Israel decided to “evacuate the families of diplomats and staff from its embassy.”
According to Tetyana Ogarkova, “the worst thing was the announcement of the withdrawal of most of the observers from the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) observation mission, present in the gray zone, (which separates the positions Ukrainians and separatists in Donbass). They were present from the beginning of the conflict and represented an important source of information about what was happening in the combat zone,” she said.
Added to this is also the departure of some of the Canadian trainers and 160 US soldiers who were training the Ukrainian forces. Some 200 Canadians have been deployed since 2015 to Ukraine as part of this mission. A decision justified by the fact that an armed confrontation between Russian soldiers and soldiers belonging to a NATO member country would ignite the gunpowder and risk degenerating into a world conflict.
Exits in favor of psychological warfare
Ukraine is surrounded by its northern, eastern and southern borders. Russia has more than 130,000 soldiers spread out across the border, as they carry out large-scale military exercises in neighboring Belarus and in the Black Sea. “We don’t know from which side the Russian army could attack and the population is tense, it’s a bit like waiting for a terrorist attack,” explains Tetyana Ogarkova, for whom these chain outings contribute to fueling the psychological war in Ukraine.
“The position of the Americans when they began to warn of the presence, in November, of Russian troops on the border was consistent, but these chain reactions of a few days are beginning to generate panic and this can also have negative consequences,” added the statement. head of the international department of the NGO Crisis Media Center of Ukraine.
Many Ukrainians consider the position of US President Joe Biden to be too alarmist, including the Ukrainian authorities. President Volodymyr Zelensky also called the transfer of several foreign embassies to the West a “big mistake”.
A few days earlier, he had made it known that he did not appreciate repeated warnings from the United States that a Russian attack was imminent. “Right now, our enemies’ best friend is panic in our country. And all this information (about a possible attack) only generates panic and does not help us,” said the president.
No mass exodus of foreigners
“Many Ukrainians feel abandoned,” says Tetyana Ogarkova, putting things into perspective. “This mainly affects the inhabitants of Kiev, who are contemplating migrating to their neighbors, which does not necessarily happen in the villages.” And she recalled that if the personnel of diplomatic missions leave the country, “millions of Ukrainians remain.”
France 24 correspondent Gulliver Gragg said that according to information collected by border guards, many Poles left Ukraine by car. However, given the tickets available at the Kiev airport, “there is no mass exodus (of foreigners),” according to the journalist, who consulted various sources.
Adapted from its French version
Faced with the threat of an invasion of Ukraine by Russia, in less than three days, many states called on their nationals to leave the country. Others have reduced the presence of their diplomatic staff on site. Psychological warfare is gaining ground.
The United States was the first to sound the alarm, on Thursday, February 10, when Joe Biden, the president of this country, made a disturbing statement in an interview with the NBC channel. “American citizens should go, they should go now. We are dealing with one of the largest militaries in the world,” the president said.
The highest US authority added that “things could quickly get out of control” and assured that it would not send soldiers on the ground in Ukraine, not even to evacuate Americans in the event of a Russian invasion, because “a world war” could start.
Since then, many countries have followed in the footsteps of the Americans. Among those who have called their nationals to leave Ukraine in recent days are Germany, Italy, Spain, Canada, Norway, Australia, Japan, Israel, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, among others.
Meanwhile, the airline KLM announced on Saturday, February 12, that it will suspend flights to Ukraine until further notice. However, Kiev has vowed to keep its airspace open despite the threat of a Russian invasion. But according to the national press, planes flying in Ukrainian airspace will no longer be protected by international insurance companies from February 14, which will lead to cancellations.
“These chain reactions are impressive, it’s starting to be too much,” Tetyana Ogarkova, head of the international department of the NGO Ukraine Crisis Media Center, said in an interview with France 24. “Such hasty and massive departures in a few days prove that there is a certain urgency, that the threat is very real and that adds to the atmosphere of anxiety,” she added.
A different case is that of Paris, which wants to believe in a diplomatic solution. French authorities are one of the few European forces that have not asked their nearly 1,000 citizens living in Ukraine to leave the country. The Quai d’Orsay, a Parisian quay located on the left bank of the Seine River in the city’s 7th arrondissement, simply advised “postponing all trips to Ukraine” and the French Embassy called on its citizens there to “stock up on water, food, clothes” and gasoline.
Withdrawal of OSCE observers
Added to the evacuation advice was the relocation of several Western embassies from Kiev to Lviv, a city located in western Ukraine. The United States, followed by Canada and Australia, have relocated most of their employees there to maintain a small consular presence.
The institutions of the European Union, for their part, have recommended that their non-essential staff from the representation in Kiev go to telework from abroad. And Romania, which did not urge its citizens to leave, preferred to withdraw non-essential staff from its embassy in Kiev, while Israel decided to “evacuate the families of diplomats and staff from its embassy.”
According to Tetyana Ogarkova, “the worst thing was the announcement of the withdrawal of most of the observers from the OSCE (Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) observation mission, present in the gray zone, (which separates the positions Ukrainians and separatists in Donbass). They were present from the beginning of the conflict and represented an important source of information about what was happening in the combat zone,” she said.
Added to this is also the departure of some of the Canadian trainers and 160 US soldiers who were training the Ukrainian forces. Some 200 Canadians have been deployed since 2015 to Ukraine as part of this mission. A decision justified by the fact that an armed confrontation between Russian soldiers and soldiers belonging to a NATO member country would ignite the gunpowder and risk degenerating into a world conflict.
Exits in favor of psychological warfare
Ukraine is surrounded by its northern, eastern and southern borders. Russia has more than 130,000 soldiers spread out across the border, as they carry out large-scale military exercises in neighboring Belarus and in the Black Sea. “We don’t know from which side the Russian army could attack and the population is tense, it’s a bit like waiting for a terrorist attack,” explains Tetyana Ogarkova, for whom these chain outings contribute to fueling the psychological war in Ukraine.
“The position of the Americans when they began to warn of the presence, in November, of Russian troops on the border was consistent, but these chain reactions of a few days are beginning to generate panic and this can also have negative consequences,” added the statement. head of the international department of the NGO Crisis Media Center of Ukraine.
Many Ukrainians consider the position of US President Joe Biden to be too alarmist, including the Ukrainian authorities. President Volodymyr Zelensky also called the transfer of several foreign embassies to the West a “big mistake”.
A few days earlier, he had made it known that he did not appreciate repeated warnings from the United States that a Russian attack was imminent. “Right now, our enemies’ best friend is panic in our country. And all this information (about a possible attack) only generates panic and does not help us,” said the president.
No mass exodus of foreigners
“Many Ukrainians feel abandoned,” says Tetyana Ogarkova, putting things into perspective. “This mainly affects the inhabitants of Kiev, who are contemplating migrating to their neighbors, which does not necessarily happen in the villages.” And she recalled that if the personnel of diplomatic missions leave the country, “millions of Ukrainians remain.”
France 24 correspondent Gulliver Gragg said that according to information collected by border guards, many Poles left Ukraine by car. However, given the tickets available at the Kiev airport, “there is no mass exodus (of foreigners),” according to the journalist, who consulted various sources.
Adapted from its French version