Japan embassy staff to leave Ukraine as Russia's attacks intensify

TOKYO, March 7 Kyodo - All staff members of the Japanese Embassy in Ukraine will temporarily move out of the country, the government said Monday, citing security reasons as Russia's invasion intensifies. The officials who were originally working in Kyiv will leave from Japan's liaison office in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, according to the Foreign Ministry. "The situation in Ukraine is becoming more tense and the risk is significantly increasing also in Lviv," the ministry said. Japan will not close the liaison office located near the border with Poland and will resume its operation "once the situation calms down," it added. Until then, the ministry said it will support Japanese citizens living in Ukraine, including those trying to evacuate the country, from mainly the Japanese Embassy in Warsaw and its liaison office in the southeastern Polish city of Rzeszow. The officials' exit from Ukraine comes less than a week after Japan decided to temporarily shut its embassy in Kyiv and transfer its entire operation to the office set up in Lviv. All members of the Group of Seven major developed nations except France and Italy have already moved their embassy officials out of Ukraine, according to the ministry. ==Kyodo