Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly is urging Canadians to leave Ukraine as the threat of a Russian invasion escalates.
“As we continue to work closely with our partners and monitor the situation, I urge all Canadians in Ukraine to make the necessary arrangements to leave the country now,” Joly said in a statement Friday evening.
The plea comes as the Biden administration issued a new warning Friday about a possible Russian invasion, saying it could take place within days.
“Simply put, we continue to see very troubling signs of Russian escalation, including new forces arriving at the Ukrainian border,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters Friday. “We’re in a window when an invasion could begin at any time and, to be clear, that includes during the Olympics.”
The U.S. has not detailed specific reasons behind the newest alert. Americans are being urged to leave the country within the next 48 hours.
Russia has amassed more than 100,000 soldiers near Ukraine in recent weeks while escalating demands that Ukraine and other former Soviet countries stay out of the Western NATO military alliance.
Russia previously invaded and annexed Ukraine’s Crimean Peninsula in 2014, and has also backed armed separatists in eastern Ukraine, who have seized vast swathes of territory in a conflict that has claimed an estimated 13,000 lives.
