The U.S. and Ukrainian governments cautioned that Russia might severely ramp up attacks on Wednesday due to the symbolic importance of the day, which marks Ukraine's independence. The car bombing that killed Darya Dugina in Moscow has further prompted concerns that the Kremlin may use the attack as a pretext for greater attacks on government or civilian infrastructure.
"The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days. Russian strikes in Ukraine pose a continued threat to civilians and civilian infrastructure. The U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens to depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so," said a security alert sent out by the embassy.
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"The security situation throughout Ukraine is highly volatile and conditions may deteriorate without warning. U.S. citizens should remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness," the alert said.
The language used in the alert, stressing "highly volatile" conditions that "may deteriorate without warning," was very similar to that used in the security alert sent to U.S. students in Saint Petersburg in late February ordering them all to be evacuated around the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
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Instructions are also given in the new security alert as to what to do in the prospect of a bombing or attack, including advice such as: "If in a home or a building, go to the lowest level of the structure with the fewest exterior walls, windows, and openings; close any doors and sit near an interior wall, away from any windows or openings."
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U.S. intelligence claims there is useful information revealing that Russia is preparing to aggravate attacks on government and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine, according to Reuters. The Ukrainian government has many of the same suspicions, banning all public independence day celebrations out of fear of such an attack.
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Curfews have been ordered in several cities under particular threat; in the eastern city of Kharkov, Mayor Ihor Terekhov ordered a curfew from 7 p.m. Tuesday to 7 a.m. Thursday.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he thinks Russia may be preparing something "particularly ugly" for Ukraine's 31st anniversary of its independence from the Soviet Union.
Russia's Federal Security Bureau claims to have solved the assassination of the daughter of Russian ultra-nationalist Alexander Dugin in Moscow, claiming Ukrainian intelligence services were behind the attack.
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