According to reports, the process of relocating the small number of remaining US diplomatic personnel in Kyiv has been initiated amid the fears and intelligence warnings of Russian invasion of Ukraine.  

Blinken, in a statement, said the US embassy will remain engaged with the Ukrainian government, coordinating diplomatic engagement in Ukraine, while the United States is also continuing its intensive diplomatic efforts to deescalate the crisis.

"I have ordered these measures for one reason — the safety of our staff — and we strongly urge any remaining US citizens in Ukraine to leave the country immediately," the statement read.

Antony Blinken said the US has been continuing its "sincere efforts to reach a diplomatic solution."

"We remain engaged with the Russian government following President Biden’s call with President Putin and my discussion with Foreign Minister Lavrov," said Blinken, adding that, "The path for diplomacy remains available if Russia chooses to engage in good faith."

"In my conversation with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba today, I reiterated that the US will continue to support Ukraine against all forms of Russian aggression, including key financial assistance packages," Blinken tweeted.

Following his call with the US Secretary of State, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said, "Grateful to the U.S. for the decision to provide Ukraine with macro-financial assistance."

However, Blinken said the US is "looking forward to returning its staff to the Embassy as soon as conditions permit."

The US State Department spokesperson Ned Price on Monday said the decision to move all remaining American diplomats from Kyiv to western Ukraine's Lviv was made because the State Department felt it was “absolutely necessary” due to the “distinct possibility, perhaps more real than ever before, that Russia may decide to proceed with military action.”

"Russia’s continued escalation and threatening military posture have led the State Department to take actions to protect our staff. We have temporarily relocated a core team of staff and operations within Ukraine to Lviv," Price tweeted.

The United States and the Western nations have been continuing their efforts to 'cool down' the biggest security crisis between Russia and the West since the Cold War.

The US President Joe Biden spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Saturday in ongoing de-escalation efforts, but there were no major breakthroughs.

As fears mount that a Russian invasion of Ukraine could take place at any time, the US has evacuated its embassy in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, and Britain joined other European nations in urging its citizens to leave the country, which is clearly a sign that American and other European countries' officials are getting ready for a worst-case scenario.

Russia has reportedly massed more than 100,000 troops near its border with Ukraine and has sent the military personnel to exercises in neighboring Belarus amid rising tensions between the two countries.

File image from UNI

The Ukrainian capital of Kyiv is only two hours from the Ukraine-Belarus border, where Russia has continued to build up its troop presence.

Moscow, however, denies that it intends to launch an offensive against Ukraine and claims its troops are in the region for military drills.

The border tensions come nearly eight years after Russia annexed Ukraine's southern Crimea peninsula and backed a bloody rebellion in the eastern Donbas region, while Moscow has accused the Ukrainian government of failing to implement the Minsk agreement, which sought to end war in the Donbas region of Ukraine.