On Thursday the US embassy appealed to its citizens to urgently leave Ukraine due to the extremely unstable security situation in the country. It urged people to avoid gatherings that could be targeted by a Russian attack across the country, including in western Ukraine.

“The security situation throughout Ukraine is highly volatile, and conditions may deteriorate without warning. U.S. citizens should remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness,” the communiqué stressed.

The US Embassy also listed setrain actions a US citizen should take in order to be safe in the country. The actions include visiting the US embassy in Kyiv and ensuring travel documents are valid and easily accessible, monitoring government websites about the latest news from Ukraine.

The message was published on the day the Russian military launched a missile attack on the centre of Vinnytsia in central Ukraine. A previous such warning was made on May 28.