Despite incessant negotiations, tension has not subsided on the Ukrainian border where tens of thousands of Russian soldiers are stationed. The French Embassy in Ukraine calls for vigilance.
“Our concern remains at a high, even very high level. The passing days still do not see the expected de-escalation on which our authorities are working tirelessly, ”worries Ambassador Etienne de Poncins in a message published on the embassy website on Sunday.
Under these conditions, France advises its nationals to postpone “all trips to Ukraine and no longer only non-essential trips”. “Border areas are formally discouraged. We obviously call for increased vigilance throughout the country,” adds the ambassador.
France does not yet call on its nationals to leave the country
At this stage, no “general recommendation to French people residing in Ukraine to leave the country” has been formulated.
The embassy, however, invites the French in Ukraine to “prepare for all practical purposes some reserves of water, food and warm clothes as well as to ensure that the tank of (their) vehicle is full”.
This weekend, tensions escalated further, as many Western countries (including the United States and the United Kingdom) called on their nationals to leave Ukraine or began to evacuate their embassies.
Anxious to preserve the economy of his country, President Zelensky called to be wary of “apocalyptic forecasts”.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz arrived in Kiev on Monday, before going to Moscow on Tuesday, to continue diplomatic efforts to defuse the crisis that has been going on for several weeks.
