US reopens embassy in Kyiv after closing over 'air attack' warning

Officials issue alert for Russia's response after Ukraine fired longer-range US missiles into its neighbour's territory for the first time

Mortar units of the Russian Airborne Forces fire towards Ukrainian sites on the right bank of the Dnieper in the Zaporizhzhia region. EPA

The US embassy in Kyiv reopened on Wednesday after closing temporarily due to specific information about a “potential significant air attack”. Italy, Spain and Greece also closed their embassies, according to Suspilne, Ukraine's state broadcaster. France and the UK kept their embassies open.

The intelligence indicated a combined drone and missile attack on Kyiv, Suspilne reported. “Out of an abundance of caution, the embassy will be closed and embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place,” the US Department of State Consular Affairs said.

“The US embassy recommends US citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced.”

It urged its citizens to have reserves of water, food and other essentials such as required medications for the event of a "possible temporary loss of electricity and water" caused by Russian strikes.

"Persistent Russian attacks targeting civilian infrastructure throughout Ukraine may result in power outages, loss of heating, and disruption of municipal services," it said.

Ukraine played down the threat. "We remind you that the threat of strikes by the aggressor state has unfortunately been a daily reality for Ukrainians for over 1,000 days," its Foreign Ministry said in a statement on social media.

The US ambassador to Ukraine, Bridget Brink, said in a post on X that the embassy has "resumed services following a temporary shelter-in-place suspension earlier".

Kyiv was hit by an overnight drone attack, which caused minor damage. An air raid warning was in place for 11 hours. The military said on Wednesday that it shot down 56 drones and lost track of 58 more as a result of what it called "active counteraction".

Meanwhile, its military intelligence agency said on Wednesday that a Russian military command post had been "successfully struck" in the town of Gubkin in Russia's Belgorod region, about 168km from the border with Ukraine.

On Tuesday, Ukraine used US-made ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory, taking advantage of newly granted permission from the departing administration of US President Joe Biden on the war's 1,000th day.

Ukrainian service personnel search for drones over Kyiv during a Russian strike. Reuters

The Ukrainian statement raised the possibility of a second ATACMS strike, but did not specify who carried out the attack, when it took place or the type of weapon used. Ukraine has also used drones for deep strikes against targets in Russia.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Mr Biden's permission would be "interpreted as a move to inflame the war and to ensure that it never ends but spreads.

"This step will not only escalate the conflict, but will also lead to a greater response by Russia," he said on his flight back to Turkey from Brazil, where he attended the G20 Summit. He urged Moscow and Kyiv to exercise restraint.

Russia had been warning the West for months that if Washington allowed Ukraine to fire US, British and French-made missiles deep into Russia, Moscow would consider those Nato members to be directly involved in the war in Ukraine.

Russia's foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin said in an interview published on Wednesday that Moscow would retaliate against Nato countries that enable long-range Ukrainian missile strikes against Russian territory, mirroring comments made by Russia's President Vladimir Putin in October.

On Tuesday, Mr Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a broader range of conventional attacks, with nuclear risks rising amid the highest tensions between Russia and West in more than half a century. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Ukraine's use of ATACMS showed western countries wanted to “escalate” the conflict.

“We will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the western war against Russia. And we will react accordingly,” Mr Lavrov told journalists at the G20 summit in Brazil.

Russia on Wednesday accused the US of prolonging the war in Ukraine by increasing weapons deliveries to Kyiv before president-elect Donald Trump enters the White House. The US will soon provide Ukraine with anti-personnel landmines to shore up its defences against Russian forces, a US official said late on Tuesday, in the latest increase in military supplies announced by the Biden administration.

The US embassy in Kyiv was closed 'out of an abundance of caution', said officials. AFP

"If you look at the trends of the outgoing US administration, they are fully committed to continuing the war in Ukraine and are doing everything they can to do so," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Washington has sought commitments from Ukraine that it will use the mines on its own territory and only in areas that are not populated to decrease the risk to civilians. The mines are known for being "non-persistent", which means they go inert when their battery power runs out after a set time.

On the campaign trail Mr Trump, who will be inaugurated on January 20, repeatedly criticised US support for Ukraine and claimed he could secure a ceasefire within hours. Ukraine's leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused G20 leaders in Brazil of failing to act over Mr Putin's nuclear threats, saying he had no interest in peace. He later warned that Ukraine would lose the war if the US cuts military funding.

Mr Trump is a vocal sceptic of the billions that the Biden administration has given Ukraine since the full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022. “If they cut, I think we will lose,” Mr Zelenskyy said in an interview with the US network Fox News. “We will fight. We have our production, but it's not enough to prevail."