US State Department personnel are out of Ukraine, military vehicles seen near Donetsk
“All State Dept personnel are out of Ukraine now, relocated to a hotel in Poland, I’m told. The US alerted high-ranking Ukrainian officials beforehand. They also notified other allies, but unclear if those embassies electing to follow suit,” Jennifer Jacobs, a senior White House reporter for Bloomberg News tweeted on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, columns of military vehicles including tanks were seen early Tuesday on the outskirts of Donetsk, Reuters reports.
“About five tanks in a column on the edge of the city and two more in another part of town, although no insignia were visible,” Reuters reporter added.
Meanwhile, NBC News reports, “Russian troops have continued to move closer to the border in what looks like plans for an invasion at any moment."
This comes after White House Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Jonathan Finer said that US President Joe Biden has warned that he will take whatever steps to keep diplomatic staff safe.
“All signs on the ground suggest step towards military action not diplomacy,” Finer added.
The United Nations Security Council closed-door meeting seems to be underway, with the updates closely followed.
Market reaction
Markets remain jittery, as every attempt in risk-recovery remains sold-off into the West-Russia tensions. The S&P 500 futures are losing 0.35% on the day while the gold price is consolidating below fresh eight-month highs of $1,914.
Author
Dhwani Mehta
FXStreet
Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.
