A man with a briefcase. File photoMOSCOW, Feb 13Australian authorities announced the suspension of their embassy in Kiev and ordered the departure of its staff due to the «deteriorating security situation» in Ukraine, according to a press release from the Australian Ministry Foreign Affairs.
"Amid the deteriorating security situation due to the buildup of Russian troops on the border with Ukraine, the Australian government ordered the departure of the Australian Embassy in Kiev and suspended its work" .
The Australian Foreign Office added that it would move the embassy's operations to a temporary office in Lviv. The agency also recommended that Australian citizens immediately leave Ukraine by commercial vehicles, as «security conditions can change in the shortest possible time.» Kiev and Western states have recently expressed concern about the alleged increase in «aggressive actions» by Russia near the borders of Ukraine. Moscow has repeatedly denied such accusations, saying that it does not threaten anyone and is not going to attack anyone, and statements about «Russian aggression» are used as an excuse to deploy more NATO military equipment near Russian borders. The Russian Foreign Ministry previously noted that statements The West about «Russian aggression» and the possibility of helping Kiev defend itself against it is both ridiculous and dangerous. Press Secretary of the President of the Russian Federation Dmitry Peskov said that Russia is moving troops within its territory and at its own discretion. According to him, this does not threaten anyone and should not bother anyone.