US embassy in Kyiv expected to reopen Thursday after closure

The United States embassy in Kyiv is expected to reopen on Thursday after shutting down for a day based on a “possible threat of a significant attack” on the city, according to a State Department spokesperson.

“We take the safety and security of our personnel … extremely seriously, and that’s what led to the change in posture today,” spokesperson Matthew Miller said on Wednesday.

Miller said he was “not aware of any significant strikes” in the Ukrainian capital, and he would not go into detail about the specifics of the threat that led the embassy to shut down.

“We base our security posture based on the best assessments we make of all the information available to us and try to be incredibly cautious to protect our personnel,” he said.

Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence said in a Telegram post that Russia had staged an “information and psychological attack” by spreading a fake warning of a massive attack on Kyiv, purporting to be from the Ukrainian agency.

Miller would not say if that warning was what prompted the embassy closure, but that the US bases such decisions “on a broad range of factors.” He also said that no embassy personnel have left Ukraine due to the threat.

“There were just people that were going to come into the office that didn’t come into the office today, and we expect them to come in tomorrow,” said Miller.