According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Russia has begun evacuating employees from all the headquarters of its diplomatic missions in Ukraine.

Earlier in the day, the Foreign Ministry said the Russian leadership decided to evacuate employees of diplomatic missions in Ukraine, in order to protect their lives and ensure their safety.

On Tuesday, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced that Russian Embassy personnel will be evacuated from Ukraine as soon as possible.

The statement detailed that some Russian diplomats in Ukraine were subjected to physical threats and some had their cars burned, without any reaction from Kiev's side.

According to the statement by the Ministry, "Under the current circumstances, our first priority is to take care of Russian diplomats and employees of the embassy and consulates general. To protect their lives and safety, the Russian leadership decided to evacuate the personnel of Russian foreign missions in Ukraine, which will be implemented in the very near future."

Regarding Biden's "first tranche" of US sanctions, the Russian Foreign Ministry confirmed that the sanctions aim to pressure Russia to change its direction, warning however that Russia will respond to the sanctions.

The Ministry described the sanction policy that has been ongoing for years as ineffective and unconstructive, adding that Moscow has successfully proven it has the ability to deter the damage caused by any sanctions.

In response to Moscow's recognition of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics and deployment of peacekeeping forces in the Donbass, US President Joe Biden announced the first round of economic sanctions against Russia on Tuesday.

Last week, Ukrainian forces drastically increased their attacks on the Donbass republics, forcing tens of thousands of civilians to escape to Russia's Rostov area for protection.