Spain asks its citizens to leave Ukraine amid growing war tensions

In view of growing concerns about an imminent Russian attack on Ukraine, Spain also called on its citizens to leave the country on Saturday.

"All Spaniards are advised to leave the country temporarily using existing travel options," the ministry wrote on Twitter.

At least 500 Spaniards were involved, mainly in the capital Kiev, the newspaper El País reported.

At the same time, the ministry reiterated the warning it had already issued in January not to travel to Ukraine because of the "unstable situation."

Previously, numerous other countries had already called on their citizens to leave Ukraine, including Germany and Britain.

NATO soldiers to Poland

The US government had warned of a possible invasion before the end of next week and deployed about 3,000 more soldiers to the NATO partner state Poland.

US President Joe Biden and Russia's head of state Vladimir Putin wanted to speak on the phone on Saturday.

French President Emmanuel Macron also wanted to speak with the Kremlin leader.