Russia has not ruled out evacuating diplomats from Ukraine

MOSCOW, Feb 10 (Reuters) – Russia has not ruled out evacuating its diplomats from Ukraine to protect them from provocations by Kyiv and third countries, the TASS news agency cited Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Rudenko as saying on Thursday.

Britain said on Thursday the West could face the “most dangerous moment” in its standoff with Moscow in the next few days, as Russia held military exercises in Belarus and the Black Sea following its troop buildup near Ukraine. 

Meanwhile, Russia Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Thursday said it was the sovereign right of any government to determine the length of military drills it chooses to hold, speaking after talks in Moscow with British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

On Russia’s joint drills with Belarus, the active phase of which began on Thursday, Lavrov said Russian troops always return to their bases after drills.

Western governments have voiced concern about the exercises in Belarus, north of Ukraine, at a time when Russia has assembled more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine’s borders.

Photo – The Russian flag, seen through barbed wire, flies over the Russian Embassy in Kiev, Ukraine. EPA/EFE