The British government has urged any citizens still in Ukraine to flee if they can or “stay indoors, away from windows” amid a large-scale Russian offensive.
Britain’s Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO), helmed by Liz Truss MP, has urged citizens “to leave Ukraine immediately if you judge it is safe to do so” in an update to its official travel advice, but warned that it is “likely that commercial routes out of Ukraine will be severely disrupted and roads across Ukraine could be closed” due to the conflict.
Moreover, the FCDO has warned in prominent, bold lettering that “British Nationals should not expect increased consular support or help with evacuating in these circumstances.”
Ukraine is currently the subject of what Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has described as a “special military operation… to de-militarise and de-Nazify Ukraine,” ostensibly in aid of the Russia-aligned separatist republics in the Donbas region and, potentially, other ethnic Russians in the Eastern European Country, who Putin alleges have been “facing humiliation and genocide perpetrated by the Kiev regime” for eight years.
In an official statement, Secretary Truss said that “Russia’s assault on Ukraine is an unprovoked, premeditated attack against a sovereign democratic state” and an “egregious violation of international law and the UN Charter.”
“We have always been clear there would be massive consequences and a severe cost for any Russian military incursion into Ukraine. As a result of their actions, we will today launch an unprecedented package of further sanctions that we have developed with our international partners,” she added, claiming that the British government would “continue to support the Ukrainian government in the face of this assault on their sovereignty and territorial integrity.”
She also shared a further message from the FCDO related to travel advice, saying that “UK rapid deployment teams trained in crisis response have been sent to countries neighbouring Ukraine to support consular operations in UK embassies.”