A flag waves in the wind at the U.S. embassy in Kyiv, Ukraine January 24, 2022. The United States said in a statement it was ordering the departure of eligible family members of staff from its embassy in Ukraine and said all citizens should consider leaving due to the threat of military action from Russia. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich

May 18 (Reuters) – The U.S. embassy in Kyiv reopened on Wednesday after a three-month closure due to Russia’s Feb. 24 invasion of Ukraine.

“We are officially reopening operations,” spokesperson Daniel Langenkamp told Reuters shortly before the U.S. flag was raised above the embassy.

He said a small number of diplomats would return initially to staff the mission.

Consular operations will not resume immediately and a no travel advisory from the State Department remains in place across Ukraine, Langenkamp said.

The U.S. embassy closed on Feb. 14, ten days before Russia launched a full-scale invasion. Embassy staff spent the first two months of the war in Poland, but Charge d’Affaires Kristina Kvien returned to the country on May 2, visiting the western city of Lviv.

Many western countries, including France, Germany and Britain have reopened their embassies in Kyiv over the past month, after Russian troops pulled back from Ukraine’s north to focus on an offensive in the east of the country.

Reporting by Max Hunder; editing by Tom Balmforth

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