The United States will temporarily send about 3,000 troops to Afghanistan to ensure the evacuation of its embassy personnel in Kabul.

This was announced by the State Department and the Pentagon on Thursday - amid reports of the collapse of the defense of Afghan government forces and the seizure of large cities by the Taliban..

State Department spokesman Ned Price said the US Embassy in Kabul will remain open, but its staff will be reduced to the minimum necessary to support its operations.. The rest of the staff - according to some reports, there are more than a thousand - will be evacuated.

The Pentagon announced that the US military will arrive in Afghanistan in the next 48 hours and will be stationed at the Kabul airport. Their mission is to ensure the evacuation of embassy personnel. Also, the United States will increase the number of export flights for Afghans who have cooperated with the US military, are eligible for visas and are willing to leave the country..

Sending the U.S. military into the country is an unexpected move, signaling that the Taliban offensive is developing at an unexpectedly fast pace.. The United States must complete the withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan by the end of August, at the moment there are about 650 American troops guarding the Kabul airport and the US embassy..

It is also reported that Britain will temporarily send several hundred troops to Afghanistan, also to evacuate its embassy personnel..

The United States on Thursday urged all of its citizens in private to leave Afghanistan immediately..

According to the latest intelligence estimates, the Taliban may capture Kabul in the next 1-3 months. On Thursday, there were reports of their seizure of three key cities - Ghazni, Herat and Kandahar.. The loss of the first two cities has already been recognized by the authorities of Afghanistan.

Large-scale Taliban offensive began shortly after the start of the final phase of the US withdrawal. President Joe Biden announced his intention to withdraw from Afghanistan, where the US military had been for almost 20 years.. He explained the decision by the fact that the main goal of the campaign - the defeat of the terrorist organization Al-Qaeda - had been achieved, and the construction of a peaceful life in the country should become the business of the Afghans themselves..