France now recommends that all its nationals leave Ukraine and calls on those in the most exposed areas in the east of the country to leave “without delay”. Germany, for its part, called on its nationals to leave Ukraine “urgently” and warned “against any movement” in the country.
France now recommends that all its nationals leave Ukraine and calls on those in the areas most exposed to the risk of war in the east of the country to leave “without delay”. “It is recommended that all French nationals whose stay in Ukraine has no compelling reason to leave the country”, underlines French diplomacy in its travel advice updated on Saturday. So far, the French Foreign Ministry has only advised to “defer all trips to Ukraine”.
“Do not go to the border areas in the north and east of the country”
The French being “in the oblasts [divisions administratives, NDLR] Kharkiv, Lugansk and Donetsk” as well as in the Dnipro region, near Russia, are “called upon to leave these areas without delay”, insists the Quai d’Orsay. Due to the “tensions created by the concentration of Russian troops on the borders of Ukraine” and “the resurgence of ceasefire violations” in the pro-Russian separatist areas, it is also recommended “not to go to the northern and eastern border areas of the country”, it is added.
Germany has called on its nationals to leave Ukraine “urgently”
Germany, for its part, called on its nationals to leave Ukraine “urgently” and warned “against any movement” in the country. The Ukrainian government said on Saturday it was “preparing for all possible scenarios”, while the United States said it was convinced that Russia wanted to invade Ukraine imminently. French President Emmanuel Macron is due to speak on Sunday at 11 a.m. Paris time (10 a.m. GMT) on the phone with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to try “again to avoid the worst”, said the Elysée. He is also due to speak with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Saturday.