Ukraine’s parliament declared a national state of emergency on Wednesday aimed at helping to forge a response to the threat of a Russian invasion.
The measure was overwhelmingly approved on the same day that Moscow began to evacuate its Kyiv embassy and Washington stepped up its warnings about the chances of an all-out Russian attack.
“The situation is difficult but remains completely under our control,” Ukraine’s security and defence council secretary Oleksiy Danilov told lawmakers ahead of the vote.
The state of emergency allows Ukraine’s regional governments to adopt heightened security measures that range from tighter ID and vehicle checks to more stringent policing.
It is due to enter into force on Thursday and stay in place for 30 days.
“Intelligence from all our foreign partners — as well as our own intelligence and analysts — show that it would be impossible to take over our country without first destabilising the domestic situation,” Danilov said.
The state of emergency applies to all parts of Ukraine except for two Russian-backed eastern separatist regions where a deadly insurgency has killed more than 14,000 people since 2014.
