WASHINGTON/KABUL: The United States has started evacuating diplomats from its embassy in Kabul, two US officials said on Sunday.
“We have a small batch of people leaving now as we speak, a majority of the staff are ready to leave... the embassy continues to function,” one of the officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said.
US officials previously said that diplomats inside had begun destroying sensitive documents.
It had been expected that the evacuation of most diplomats would begin on Sunday, as Taliban insurgents continued lightning advances that brought the Islamist group to the door of Kabul in a matter of days.
The moves came as the Taliban earlier seized the last major city outside of Kabul held by the country’s increasingly isolated central government, cutting off the capital to the east and tightening their grip on the nation as tens of thousands fled their rapid advance.
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US begins evacuating embassy in Kabul
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US begins evacuating embassy in Kabul
- US officials previously said that diplomats inside had begun destroying sensitive documents
A thousand Kyiv apartment blocks still without heating after Russian strike
KYIV: More than 1,000 apartment buildings in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv are still without heating following a devastating Russian attack earlier this week, local authorities said on Sunday.
Russia has intensified bombardments of Ukraine’s energy system since it invaded its neighbor in 2022.
On Friday, a missile strike on Kyiv left virtually the entire city without power and heating amid a sharp cold snap, and it was not until Sunday that authorities restored water supplies and partially restored electricity and heating.
The war’s fourth winter could be the coldest and darkest yet, with the accumulated damage to the grid bringing utilities to the brink and temperatures, already below minus 12 degrees Celsius (10.4 F), set to plunge to minus 20 degrees (-4 F) later this week.
“Restoration work is ongoing. However, the energy supply situation in the capital remains very difficult,” Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said on Telegram.
“According to forecasts, the severe frosts are not expected to subside in the coming days. Therefore, the difficult situation in the capital will continue,” he added.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said Russian forces had attacked the country’s power system again during the night, briefly cutting off electricity to the south-eastern Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
“Not a single day passed this week without attacks on energy facilities and critical infrastructure. A total of 44 attacks were recorded,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Telegram.
Russia has intensified bombardments of Ukraine’s energy system since it invaded its neighbor in 2022.
On Friday, a missile strike on Kyiv left virtually the entire city without power and heating amid a sharp cold snap, and it was not until Sunday that authorities restored water supplies and partially restored electricity and heating.
The war’s fourth winter could be the coldest and darkest yet, with the accumulated damage to the grid bringing utilities to the brink and temperatures, already below minus 12 degrees Celsius (10.4 F), set to plunge to minus 20 degrees (-4 F) later this week.
“Restoration work is ongoing. However, the energy supply situation in the capital remains very difficult,” Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko said on Telegram.
“According to forecasts, the severe frosts are not expected to subside in the coming days. Therefore, the difficult situation in the capital will continue,” he added.
Ukraine’s energy ministry said Russian forces had attacked the country’s power system again during the night, briefly cutting off electricity to the south-eastern Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
“Not a single day passed this week without attacks on energy facilities and critical infrastructure. A total of 44 attacks were recorded,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Telegram.
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