Russia evacuates Ukraine embassy as region braces for further confrontation

Russia began pulling personnel from its diplomatic posts in Ukraine, state news agency Tass reported, a day after the Foreign Ministry announced a plan to evacuate, citing threats

A protesters holds a poster during a rally in front of Russian Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2022. Russia says that its recognition of independence for areas in eastern Ukraine extends to territory currently held by Ukrainian forces. That announcement Tuesday further raises the stakes amid Western fears that a full-fledged invasion of Ukraine is imminent. (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

Russia has started evacuating its embassy in Kyiv and Ukraine urged its citizens to leave Russia as the region braced for further confrontation after Vladimir Putin received authorisation to use military force outside his country and the West responded with sanctions.

Hopes for a diplomatic way out of a potentially devastating war appeared all but sunk as the US and key European allies accused Moscow on Tuesday of crossing a red line in rolling over Ukraine’s border into separatist regions — with some calling it an invasion.