'By Handan Kazanci
ISTANBUL (AA) – Turkiye on early Tuesday "strongly" urged its citizens to leave eastern regions of Ukraine following Russia's recognition of the country's separatist regions.
"In the light of the latest developments, we strongly urge our citizens to leave the Eastern regions of Ukraine. We recommend our citizens to contact our Embassy in Kyiv when necessary," said the Turkish Foreign Ministry in a statement.
“In case of emergency, our Embassy in Kyiv can be reached from (+380632114765; +380632557748) and through our Ministry's Consular Call Center (+90312 292 2929),” the statement added.
The move came after Russian President Vladimir Putin officially recognized Ukraine's Donetsk and Luhansk regions as independent states and signed the relevant agreements with the separatist leaders in the Kremlin.
Tensions have recently risen dramatically in eastern Ukraine, with reports of a growing number of cease-fire violations, multiple shelling incidents, and evacuation of civilians from the pro-Russian breakaway regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Western countries have accused Russia of amassing more than 100,000 troops near Ukraine, prompting fears that it could be planning a military offensive against its ex-Soviet neighbor.
Moscow has repeatedly denied any plan to invade Ukraine and instead accused Western countries of undermining Russia's security through NATO's expansion toward its borders.