LONON – As the raising tension starts to reach boiling point over the Ukraine crisis, German carrier Lufthansa has announced that it will be suspending operations to the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv from Monday, as the fears of a Russian invasion of the country expected to take place any day now.

A spokesperson for Lufthansa said: “The safety of our passengers and crew members is our top priority at all times,”

The news has come just hours after the German government advised all german nationals in the country to leave now while there was still the option of commercial air travel.

The spokesperson added: “Lufthansa continues to monitor the situation closely and is in close contact with national and international authorities,”

Lufthansa becomes the second European carrier in the last few weeks to announce that it will be suspending operations to the Captial of Ukraine, with Air France KLM announcing the suspension of its services last week.

The last services from Lufthansa will be operated tonight with the suspension coming into effect from Monday 21.

This is a developing story.