Iran Press/ Asia: On February 24, Russia formally declared a special military operation against Ukraine, noting that its operation in Ukraine is not a start to the war, but an attempt to prevent a global war.
The advance of Russian forces continued Friday against the capital Kyiv, which risks being entirely surrounded.
"We are evacuating embassy staff for security reasons," the official, who wished to remain anonymous, told AFP.
In the last two weeks, various countries, including the United States, Canada, the UK, Australia, the European Union and Japan, have ordered their embassy staff in Kyiv to leave as soon as possible.
Nearly 20,000 people have already been evacuated Wednesday and Thursday from the Kyiv region, according to Ukrainian authorities.
Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko said Thursday that half the city's population had fled and the capital "has been transformed into a fortress".
More than 2.5 million people have already fled the war in Ukraine and two million others have been internally displaced since the crisis, the UN announced on Friday. 219
