Spain recommended Spaniards to leave Ukraine temporarily as soon as possible given the worsening of the security situation, Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said on Wednesday.
"We recommend to temporarily leave the country as soon as possible and advise against travelling to Ukraine under any circumstances," Albares told a parliamentary committee.
Russia's recognition of Donetsk and the neighbouring self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic on Monday was declared illegal by Western countries, which have imposed new sanctions against Moscow.
Albares said 334 Spaniards remain in Ukraine, down from 445 when the crisis began, a few weeks ago.
(Reporting by Emma Pinedo, editing by Inti Landauro)
