Liz Truss confirms British ambassador to Ukraine has left country as violence escalates

The British ambassador to Ukraine has been evacuated from the country due to security concerns amid escalating violence the Foreign Secretary has said.

Speaking at a meeting of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs committee, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: “Our ambassador has left Ukraine because of the serious security situation."

Last Monday, after Russian attacks on Kyiv escalated she tweeted: “Yes. We are still in #Ukraine. Still carrying out core work. Proud to do so with a great team."

Just days before the fighting intensified, she relocated from Kyiv to Lviv, where she and her staff attempted to provide consular services to Britons stuck in the country.

Ms. Simmons has been ambassador to Ukraine since 2019, and a staunch defender of Ukrainian sovereignty. As the war broke out, she posted: “A wholly unprovoked attack on a peaceful country is unfolding. Horrified.

“Just because you’ve prepared and thought about this possibility for weeks and months doesn’t mean it isn’t shocking when it actually happens.”

Earlier this year, the synagogue’s senior rabbi, Miriam Berger, told the JC that Ms Simmons’s Jewish values “permeated her existence every day."

Last week the JC revealed that she even joined her north London shul’s service last Friday by Zoom — even singing with the choir.