U.S. officials are warning that Russia is poised to scale up its attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine.

“The Department of State has information that Russia is stepping up efforts to launch strikes against Ukraine’s civilian infrastructure and government facilities in the coming days,” read an alert issued by the U.S. embassy in Kyiv. "The U.S. Embassy urges U.S. citizens to depart Ukraine now using privately available ground transportation options if it is safe to do so," the statement added. "The security situation throughout Ukraine is highly volatile and conditions may deteriorate without warning. U.S. citizens should remain vigilant and take appropriate steps to increase their security awareness.”

The U.S. Kyiv embassy reopened in May after relocating to Poland for three months in response to Russia’s February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned over the weekend that “Russia could try to do something particularly disgusting, particularly cruel” to disrupt Ukraine’s August 24 Independence Day celebrations. Independence Day is a public holiday in Ukraine marking the country’s declaration of independence from the Soviet Union.

The killing of Daria Dugina, daughter of ultra-nationalist philosopher Aleksandr Dugin, has led hawkish Russian commentators to call for retaliatory strikes on Ukraine, which Moscow has accused of orchestrating her assassination. “Three objects to destroy are the Defense Ministry of Ukraine, the headquarters of the Security Service of Ukraine, and the headquarters of the Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine,” Russian defense expert and military commentator Igor Korotchenko told news outlet EA Daily. “Three objects, a demonstrative strike in real time. I believe this would be Russia’s most effective answer.”

Ukraine has denied the Russian accusations, with presidential advisor Mikhailo Podolyak tweeting that Kyiv “certainly had nothing to do with” Dugina’s death. “Because we’re not a criminal state, like the Russian Federation is, and moreover not a terrorist state,” Podolyak added.

Russian forces launched a new wave of rocket attacks in August across the Zaporizhia and Kharkiv regions in southeastern and eastern Ukraine, but Kyiv—which is located far from where the fighting is currently concentrated—has remained largely untouched in recent months. The Ukrainian capital has rarely come under attack since Russian forces withdrew from northern Ukraine in March in order to reprioritize ground offensives in the country’s eastern half. Kyiv and several other major Ukrainian cities, including Mykolaiv and Kharkiv, have banned large public gatherings on Independence Day, citing the threat of Russian strikes.

Mark Episkopos is a national security reporter for the National Interest.

Image: Reuters.