National State of Emergency declared in Ukraine due to tensions with Russia rise, summoning citizens to return home

            In reaction to the mounting possibility of a Russian invasion, Ukraine’s parliament declared a state of emergency on Wednesday. Oleksiy Danilov, secretary of Ukraine’s Security and Defence Council, informed legislators before of the vote. Except for two Russian-backed separatist areas in eastern Ukraine, the state of emergency will extend to the whole country. “The situation is challenging, but it is entirely under our hands”, Ukraine’s security and defence council secretary, Oleksiy Danilov, told legislators before of the vote.

On Wednesday, the Ukrainian government and official websites were once again unavailable. Since Wednesday, embassies and international offices in Kyiv have been shuttered. The Ukrainian government has also made military duty mandatory for all men of fighting age. Moscow has denied any plans for an invasion and has labelled the threats as anti-Russian hysteria. However, no actions have been done to evacuate soldiers from Ukraine’s borders.

On Wednesday night, the Ukrainian government shuttered airports in eastern Ukraine, establishing buffer zones for Ukrainian-controlled aviation to avoid possibly dangerous clashes with Russian-controlled air traffic.

Ukrainian pilots flying over Eastern Ukraine have been urged to keep an eye out for Russian officials attempting to seize control of the airspace and to only recognise Ukrainian controllers. The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting is due to resume amid rising tensions between nuclear-armed states.