A security officer stays in guard at Russian embassy in Kyiv on February 12, 2022. (Photo: AFP)

Russia began evacuating diplomatic staff from Ukraine, its embassy in Kyiv told AFP, a day after lawmakers in Moscow granted President Vladimir Putin to use force abroad.

Asked if the evacuation had begun, the embassy's spokesman Denis Golenko told AFP by phone: "Yes." Moscow's foreign ministry announced Tuesday it would evacuate diplomats from the country soon.