Canada, U.S. embassies in Ukraine close amid Russian air attack threat

Several embassies in Kyiv including Canada’s have closed their doors after receiving warning from the U.S. of potentially significant air attacks from Russia.

The Canadian Embassy in the Ukrainian capital has temporarily suspended in-person services due to the security situation, a government statement said online.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said it received “specific information of a potential significant air attack” on Wednesday, and would be closed as a precaution. It instructed its embassy employees to shelter in place.

It also added that U.S. citizens should “be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced”.

The Italian and Greek embassies also closed their doors, while the French embassy remained open but urged its citizens to be cautious.

The warning comes a day after Moscow said U.S.-made longer range missiles had been used in a Ukrainian attack in the Bryansk region of Russia. U.S. President Joe Biden authorized the use of the missiles.

Russia has recently escalated its air attacks, targeting Ukrainian energy infrastructures as winter approaches.

Tuesday marked the 1,000th day of the illegal Russian invasion of Ukraine.

READ MORE: Ukraine marks 1,000 days of war with vigils around the world