The U.S. Embassy in Moscow has been shriveled, and diplomatic service in Minsk utterly suspended, the State Division mentioned on Monday.

A discover attributed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned it "approved the voluntary departure ... of non-emergency workers and relations" from the embassy in Russia's capital, mentioned the discover attributed to Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

"We took these steps because of safety and security points stemming from the unprovoked and unjustified assault by Russian army forces in Ukraine," it mentioned.

"We finally haven't any larger precedence than the protection and safety of U.S. residents, and that features our U.S. authorities personnel and their dependents serving all over the world," mentioned Blinken.

The U.S. consulates in Yekaterinburg—about 870 miles east of Moscow—and Vladivostok within the Russian Far East had already been suspended within the final two years.

The assertion got here hours after most of Western Europe closed its airspace to Russian plane.

It is a growing story.

U.S. Embassy In Moscow Downsized, Minks Shuttered
A Russian flag flies subsequent to the U.S. Embassy in Moscow, Russia, on December 7, 2021. Amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the State Division introduced the approved departure of non-emergency workers and relations from the U.S. Embassy in Moscow on February 28, 2022. The U.S. Embassy in Minsk was shuttered on the identical day. ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP through Getty Photos