Israel has ordered the evacuation of its embassy in Kyiv, instructing its staff to relocate to Lviv in Western Ukraine, the Israel Foreign Ministry announced on Monday, amid concerns of a potential Russian invasion. Lviv is located about 50 miles from Ukraine’s western border with Poland. Russia has denied it has any plans to invade Ukraine, and has accused western allies of NATO expansion threatening Moscow’s security as Ukraine seeks to be granted membership. However, just hours after the evacuation order, Russian President Vladimir Putin said he was moving to recognize the “independence” of two regions in Eastern Ukraine—the Donetsk and Lugansk regions held by pro-Russia separatist groups. He then signed a decree to authorize that Russian military troops can be ordered into the two areas, located in Ukraine’s Donbas region, for “peacekeeping operations.” The White House has since announced sanctions on Ukraine’s Donbas in response to Putin’s decree, with sanctions on Russia to be …
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