Published On 5/26/2026
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Last update: 05:38 (Mecca time)
Moscow issued a strong warning to foreign nationals and diplomatic missions of the need to leave the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, as soon as possible.
This development was accompanied by the Russian Foreign Ministry’s announcement of its forces’ intention to launch “a series of systematic and coordinated strikes” under the directives of President Vladimir Putin, targeting what it described as “decision-making centers” and command headquarters, in addition to defense industry facilities on which Ukrainian forces depend in the capital and its environs.
As part of this move, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov made a phone call with his American counterpart, Marco Rubio, in which he officially informed him of Moscow’s decision to carry out these coordinated and systematic strikes.
During the call, Lavrov renewed his country’s recommendation to the United States and other Western countries to ensure the immediate evacuation of their diplomatic staff and citizens from Kiev.
Russian escalation
The US State Department confirmed the contact between Rubio and Lavrov, noting that the discussions touched on the war file in Ukraine, the course of bilateral relations, and the situation in Iran, without providing additional details regarding the security arrangements related to the US embassy in Kiev.
Moscow also called on residents of the Ukrainian capital to immediately move away from military and administrative facilities in anticipation of imminent strikes.
These successive Russian warnings come in the wake of a wave of intense air strikes launched by Moscow over the past weekend, in which it used the modern “Oreshnik” ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads. The strikes targeted several areas in Ukraine, especially the capital, Kiev, killing at least 4 people and wounding about 100 others.
The Russian Foreign Ministry attributed this sharp escalation to what it described as a “bloody and deliberate attack” that constituted “the tipping point,” following a drone strike attributed to Ukrainian forces that targeted a student residence affiliated with a vocational college in the city of Starobelsk in the Luhansk region under Russian control in eastern Ukraine, which led – according to the Russian account – to the death of 21 people and the injury of more than 40 others.
Ukraine’s position
On the other hand, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Army confirmed that its forces actually targeted several Russian military sites that night, including the headquarters of a military unit in the Starobelsk region, without confirming the details of the civilian casualties announced by Moscow.
In reactions, the Russian threats were met with categorical rejection by Kiev and its Western allies, as Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sipha described the Russian warnings as “blackmail,” calling on his country’s partners not to surrender and to continue providing military support and weapons to the Ukrainian forces.
In the same way, European countries ignored the Russian warning, as the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that it was not possible to evacuate its diplomats from Kiev because it was “accustomed to Putin’s threats.”
The European Union ambassador in Kiev announced the mission’s commitment to staying and not leaving the Ukrainian capital under the weight of these threats, which bring to mind similar warnings issued by Moscow earlier this month to evacuate Kiev before the “Victory Day” celebrations on May 9.
