The German Foreign Ministry reiterated on Saturday (19) the recommendation that German citizens leave Ukraine “urgently”, believing that a military confrontation “is possible at any time”. The same request was made by the government of France.
“Tensions between Russia and Ukraine continued to increase due to the presence and movements of Russian troops near the Ukrainian border,” the German ministry said in a statement.
Last Saturday, the German government had asked citizens to leave the country if their presence was not “absolutely necessary”, which was also recommended by the United States, the United Kingdom and others.
The airline Lufthansa announced the interruption of connections with Ukraine from Monday (21), which will last at least until the end of February. Some flights will take place throughout this weekend to allow departure from the country, according to a company spokesman quoted by German newspapers.
The French Foreign Ministry has already advised people in Kharkiv and the self-proclaimed republics of Donetsk and Lugansk, as well as the Dnipro region, to leave these areas “without delay”. The recommendation is also valid for all French people who do not have a great reason to be in Ukraine. The folder’s advice is not to go to the northern and eastern border zones. For those outside Ukraine, the folder suggests postponing any trip to the country.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Saturday expressed to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov France’s concern about the escalation of tension in eastern Ukraine and warned him of the consequences of a violation of Ukrainian sovereignty.
The head of French diplomacy noted that there is still room for dialogue and emphasized that France is willing to work on this issue. “But it is up to Russia to bet on this dialogue if it has a sincere will. Today there is a discrepancy between its actions and its words,” said the statement released by the French government.
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