Air raid alert issued and lifted in Kyiv for possible Russian airstrikes.

An air raid warning was issued and lifted in Ukraine's capital Kyiv amid the U.S. warning of a possible large-scale Russian airstrike.

Citing Kyiv authorities, British media, including the BBC and the Telegraph, reported that an alert was issued at around 2 p.m. local time today (20th) in Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine, but was lifted in about 30 minutes.

However, Ukrainian authorities still believe there is a possibility of a large-scale Russian missile strike and will soon make an official statement, he said.

Earlier, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine shut down the embassy and evacuated staff, saying there was specific information that a large-scale airstrike could take place on the 20th local time.

The Spanish, Italian and Greek embassies in Kyiv also said they would temporarily close their diplomatic missions for one day on the 20th.