Canada withdraws non-essential embassy employees from Ukraine

Canada’s diplomatic office announced on Sunday that it was temporarily recalling non-essential personnel from its embassy in Ukraine as tensions with Russia continue to escalate.

“Canada has made the decision to temporarily withdraw non-essential Canadian employees and remaining dependants from the Canadian embassy in Ukraine,” Global Affairs Canada said in a statement.

“As announced earlier this week, Canada will be reinforcing the team at the Canadian Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, with officials with expertise in areas such as security sector reform, conflict management, democratic reform, consular services and diplomacy,” said the government office.

Canadians in Ukraine who are in need of assistance have been asked to contact Canada’s embassy in Kyiv.

Last week, the U.S. State Department ordered the families of embassy staff members to leave Ukraine and also permitted non-essential personnel to leave. Natasha Bertrand, a national security reporter for CNN, reported earlier this week that most non-essential personnel were still working at the embassy in Kyiv. 

U.S. citizens who are in Ukraine have been advised to leave, with the department citing potential military action from Russia that would impact the embassy’s ability to provide assistance.

The U.S delivered a written response to Russia’s security demands on Wednesday, though the contents of the letter were not disclosed. Russia has demanded that NATO not expand any further eastward and guarantee that Ukraine never be permitted to join the military alliance, claiming threats to its national security.

The U.S. has refused to accept either condition, but Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said the response “sets out a serious diplomatic path forward should Russia choose it.”

“I think there are important things to work with if Russia is serious about working,” he told reporters. “And that is up to President Putin. We’ll see how they respond.

Ukrainian ambassador to the U.S., Oksana Markarova, warned on Sunday that she did not believe Russia would stop at Ukraine if it in fact decides to invade.

“If Ukraine will be further attacked by Russia, of course, they will not stop after Ukraine. So that’s why it’s in the interest of Europe and all democratic world, to help us to defend ourselves but also to show that the international rule of law still works,” she said.