The World Bank is temporarily relocating Ukrainian staff and has suspended staff missions to the country due to border tensions with Russia, according to an internal memo seen by Reuters on Monday.

The World Bank said it was closely monitoring the situation on the border, where Russia has massed a huge force within striking distance of Ukraine, and its operations are continuing in Ukraine.

“The World Bank Group’s top priority is to ensure the safety of our staff and their families. In line with our evacuation policy, the temporary relocation of staff is underway and enhanced security measures are in place” , says the memo.

The memo did not provide details on where or how many staff members were being relocated.

On Saturday, the US State Department announced that it was ordering most staff at its embassy in Kyiv to immediately leave Ukraine due to the threat of a Russian invasion. Some embassy staff will work from the city of Lviv in western Ukraine, US officials said.

A spokesperson for the International Monetary Fund, which maintains a $5 billion loan program for Ukraine, could not immediately be reached for comment on the lender’s staffing in the country.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the World Bank has provided nearly $1.3 billion in financing to Ukraine.

In September, it signed two loan deals for Ukraine worth a combined $441 million, with the funds aimed at improving the integration of its power grids with Europe and boosting its education sector. .

In December, the World Bank approved a $150 million emergency loan for the COVID-19 pandemic response and vaccination project, as well as a second loan of €300 million ($340 million). dollars) for development policy.

An initial loan of $350 million for Ukraine’s development policy, aimed at protecting the most vulnerable from the pandemic and fostering economic recovery, was approved in June 2020.

Russia hinted on Monday that it was ready to continue talking with the West to try to defuse the security crisis, while a Ukrainian official said Kiev was ready to make concessions to Moscow.