FILE - A security stands the British Embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday, Jan. 24, 2022.
Highlights
- Ukraine's security council has approved to declare a national emergency in the country.
- The move comes amid threat of Russian invasion.
- Emergency will extend to all Ukrainian territory apart from Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine (NSDC) on Wednesday approved plans to declare a state of national emergency, in response to the growing threat of a Russian invasion, reported news agency AFP. Ukraine's top security official has said that the state of emergency will extend to all Ukrainian territory apart from Donetsk and Luhansk regions.
The official also said that the state of emergency would last 30 days and can be extended for another 30 days, reported news agency Reuters.
Up until now, embassies and international offices in Ukraine's capital city Kyiv have been closed. Flight after flight has been canceled when insurance companies balked at covering planes arriving in Ukraine.
Donetsk and Luhansk are two regions that were recently declared independent by Russia. The conflicted regions have a history of being crowded with separatists or rebels backed by the Russian military.
Meanwhile, Ukraine has urged its citizens to leave Russia after tensions escalated dramatically when Russia’s leader got the OK to use military force outside his country and the West responded with a raft of sanctions.
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