<Anchor>



The sense of crisis in the Ukraine war is growing.

The United States has decided to close the embassy in the capital Kiev and move it to the western region.

We will connect with Washington Correspondent Kim Soo-hyung to hear the relevant news in detail.



Correspondent Kim Soo-hyung, is the situation serious enough to relocate the embassy?



<Reporter>



Yes, it is.



The U.S. government is taking the Ukraine situation so seriously that President Biden has already told European leaders an expected date for a Russian invasion on Wednesday.



The US embassy in Kiev already had only essential personnel, but it was announced a while ago that even this was closed and the embassy would be moved to Lviv, western Ukraine.



The minimum number of Americans who are still in Ukraine to leave the country will remain in the western region to maintain the embassy's functions.



Let's hear what a State Department spokesperson has to say.



[Ned Price / State Department Spokesperson: We are moving our embassy functions from Kiev to Lviv.

Most of the State Department personnel are in Lviv.]



<Anchor>



As Correspondent Kim Soo-hyung just said, the date the US predicted that Russia would invade Ukraine is Wednesday.

It's right in front of you, how do you think the possibility of an invasion is right now?



<Reporter>



First, the Pentagon said at a briefing a while ago that it was not known whether Putin had made the decision to invade Ukraine.



However, it is reported that the Russian army is conducting the largest military exercise ever in the Belarusian border area north of Ukraine, and even fighters have started close flights near the border.



In some cases, the distance from the Belarusian border to Kiev, Ukraine is less than 100 km.



It is known that there are close to 150,000 Russian troops surrounding Ukraine, but the Black Sea in the south is in effect a sea blockade, and as flights are canceled, Ukraine is in a situation of isolation.



Let's listen to the spokesman of the Ministry of Defense.



[John Kirby / U.S. Department of Defense Spokesperson: The important thing is that President Putin is preparing for war by gathering a huge number of Russian troops to the Ukraine border.]



However, the U.S. government emphasized the will to come up with a solution through dialogue, saying that the possibility of diplomacy is still open. I did.