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WASHINGTON — The US Secret Service’s discovery of a “suspicious” object forced the evacuation of the Ukrainian embassy in DC and shut down a major bridge on Friday — before it was deemed not a threat, according to officials.
A Secret Service spokesperson said that the suspicious item was found at around 8:40 a.m. Friday morning, prompting a response from the agency, the Metropolitan Police Department and others.
The authorities “out of an abundance of caution, closed several roads and the Key Bridge,” the Secret Service spokesperson added. “The investigation is ongoing and additional details will be forthcoming.”
The suspicious object was found near the entrance to the embassy’s consular section, according to Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.
The discovery prompted a temporary evacuation of embassy staff and visitors while US law enforcement and bomb technicians inspected the item.
Ukrainian charge d’affaires Denys Sienik told The Post that the embassy was evacuated and a “bomb squad” had been called after the suspicious object was found outside.
The closures snarled traffic around Georgetown, where the embassy is located near the Francis Scott Key Bridge, a major route connecting Northwest DC with Rosslyn, Virginia, across the Potomac River.
The Metropolitan Police Department responded to the scene around 8:42 am and its Explosive Ordnance Disposal Unit was also called in to investigate.
At 9:13 am, DC police issued a traffic alert, warning that the bridge was closed in both directions. By 9:59, authorities had also listed Wisconsin Avenue NW among the closures.
The closures disrupted a key commuter crossing between Washington and Northern Virginia during the morning commute.
The bridge and surrounding streets were closed as a precaution while law enforcement investigated. Officials had not initially provided a timeline for reopening the affected roads.
“Following an inspection, U.S. law enforcement reported that the object discovered near the Embassy poses no threat; the area around the diplomatic mission has been reopened.
Consular services will resume shortly,” Sienik added later.
The forced evacuation comes amid tense negotiations between the US and Ukraine as well as the US and Russia to work toward winding down Moscow’s more than four-year war against Kyiv.
