[UPDATES] As of 2 p.m. Nov. 20, the embassies of Spain, Italy, and Greece in Kyiv later also suspended operations for the rest of the day due to a potential "security threat."
The Kazakh embassy in Ukraine has urged its citizens to leave the country.
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The US Embassy in Kyiv has warned American citizens about a potential large-scale missile strike on Ukraine, expected on Wednesday, Nov. 20. The warning was issued on the embassy’s website, citing specific intelligence about the threat.
“The US Embassy in Kyiv has received specific information of a potential significant air attack on Nov. 20. Out of an abundance of caution, the Embassy will be closed, and Embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place," the statement read.
The embassy urged US nationals in Ukraine to be prepared to seek immediate shelter during air alerts.
The warning comes amid heightened tensions following Ukraine’s use of US-supplied ATACMS long-range missiles against a military facility in Russia’s Bryansk region, carried out days after Washington approved Kyiv’s use of the weapons.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, speaking at a G20 meeting in Brazil, described the missile attack as a sign of Western escalation.
“This is, of course, a signal that they want to escalate,” Lavrov said, vowing that Russia would respond to what he called “a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia.”
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Adding to the volatility, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Tuesday, Nov. 19, lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, a move condemned by the US, UK, and EU as “irresponsible.”
The decree outlines significant changes to Russia’s nuclear policy, where Russia may now use nuclear weapons following “receiving reliable information about the mass launch of means of aerospace attack” or if the country is attacked with conventional weapons, such as cruise missiles or drones.
Additionally, aggression by a non-nuclear state, if supported by a nuclear power, will now be considered a joint attack warranting Moscow’s nuclear deterrence under the updated doctrine.
The Kremlin defended the policy changes as a necessary response to perceived Western threats.
“It was necessary to bring our principles in line with the current situation,” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters Tuesday, Nov. 19, shortly after Putin signed the decree.
Peskov also emphasized that the use of Western non-nuclear missiles by Ukraine on Russian territory could now provoke a nuclear response.
“The use of Western non-nuclear missiles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine against the Russian Federation under the new doctrine may entail a nuclear response,” Peskov said.
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