The South Korean ambassador to Ukraine has returned to the capital of Kyiv some two months after evacuating to a nearby region due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The foreign ministry said in a statement on Sunday that Ambassador Kim Hyung-tae and some other embassy staff returned to Kyiv on Saturday night from the embassy’s temporary office in Chernivtsi.

The ministry said the embassy is preparing to resume operations from Monday and will work to protect South Koreans in Ukraine and carry out diplomatic duties in close cooperation with the Ukrainian government.

The ministry is considering having the remaining staff in the temporary offices in Lviv and Chernivtsi return to Kyiv in phases depending on the situation in the region.

The return of South Korean embassy officials to the Ukrainian capital comes after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken expressed intent last Sunday to reopen the U.S. embassy in Kyiv.

According to the ministry, embassies of some 20 countries have resumed operations in Kyiv, including the Netherlands, Brazil, Iran, Italy, France and Turkey.