Canada urges its citizens to immediately leave Ukraine

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) - Canada urged its nationals late Friday to leave Ukraine immediately because of “ongoing Russian threats and the risk of armed conflict.”

“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,” Foreign Minister Melanie Joy said in a statement.

Joy noted that Canadian diplomatic and consular staff in Ukraine remain on the ground to provide consular assistance to citizens.

As the tension between Russia and the West continues the escalate, some western countries, including the US, the UK, Israel, South Korea urged their citizens on Friday to leave Ukraine

Ukraine has been plagued by conflict in its eastern regions since March 2014 following Russia’s invasion and annexation of Crimea.

Moscow recently amassed more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, prompting fears that the Kremlin could be planning another military offensive against its ex-Soviet neighbor.

Russia has denied it is preparing to invade and accused Western countries of undermining its security by NATO’s expansion toward its borders.

The Kremlin also issued a list of security demands to the West, including a rolling back of troop deployments from some ex-Soviet states and guarantees that Ukraine and Georgia will not join NATO.