She said 198 Ukrainians have died, including three children, and 1,115 have been injured since Russia began attacking the country. Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., accused Russia of committing crimes against humanity in a speech at the Ukrainian embassy in Washington, D.C., on Saturday. doesn't have any legal obligations to help the local staffers to leave, but said there is a moral one. "So, if you're in Kyiv, you're stuck there because the city is surrounded. "Pretty much no one can leave Kyiv now," he said. Rubin called the measures "good," but noted they should have been implemented before the invasion began. The department also said that special immigrant visas are available, but it was not clear how many embassy employees would qualify for them. State Department told CBS News it is "exploring all legal options" to assist the remaining employees. Rubin said all this happened "several weeks ago" and there still hasn't been any support given to the local embassy employees who may wish to leave Kyiv. They shut down the embassy, they welded the doors shut, and our local employees did not have information about what to do and where to go, if anywhere, would they be paid, and how they were going to be protected." "What we're hearing from both our American colleagues who have left Ukraine and from our more than 600 Ukrainian colleagues … is there was no information when it was decided that the American employees would leave," Rubin said. embassy could be in danger should Kyiv fall to Russian forces. In an interview with CBS News' Lana Zak, President of the American Foreign Service Association and former ambassador to Bulgaria Eric Rubin said locals who worked at the U.S. Staff were even warned that they would not get paid if they lift Kyiv, the diplomat said. has evacuated American staff members from its embassy in Ukraine, but as many as 600 local personnel were given no guidance as to what they should do in the lead up to the Russian invasion, one U.S. embassy staff in Kyiv being abandoned 05:53 Instead, fighting broke out in the streets of Kyiv as Ukrainians stood up to defend their country. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had warned Friday night that the city could fall to the Russians overnight. Meanwhile, dozens of residents still in the capital of Kyiv were sheltering in underground metro stations as Russian forces launched coordinated artillery and missile attacks on key sites in the city. However, tens of thousands of Ukrainians are still fleeing their country, prompting fears of a possible refugee crisis. Many of them were military-aged men who wanted to return to join the fight. "We are defending our homes, we are defending our families, we are defending democracy, we are defending our choice to be sovereign, but we are also defending Europe," the ambassador said.ĬBS News' Christina Ruffini reported Saturday that for the first time since Russia's attack began Thursday, people were lined up at a crossing station on the Ukraine-Poland border trying to get back into Ukraine. Oksana Markarova, Ukraine's ambassador to the U.S., told reporters Saturday that Ukrainian forces have destroyed 102 Russian tanks, 14 fighter jets, 11 helicopters, 15 artillery pieces and 536 armored vehicles. The United Nations said Saturday that it had confirmed at least 240 civilian causalities. Kyiv - After three days of fighting, Ukraine continues to push back against Russia's unrelenting assault.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |