Russia Urges Foreign Citizens and Diplomats in Kyiv to Leave, Warns of Continued Strikes

Russia's Foreign Ministry has urged foreign citizens and diplomats in Kyiv to leave the city and advised against travel to Ukraine, saying Moscow intends to continue launching what it described as massive retaliatory strikes on military targets across the country, including the capital.

The ministry's statement framed the warning as a response to prior Ukrainian actions, though it did not provide detailed justification for the characterization of planned strikes as retaliatory. Ukrainian officials have not issued an immediate public response to the specific warning.

Warnings of this kind from Russian officials have periodically preceded intensified rounds of missile and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities during the war, including on infrastructure in and around Kyiv. Foreign missions in Kyiv have at various points scaled back staffing or operations in response to such warnings, though many have continued to maintain a diplomatic presence in the capital throughout the conflict.

The Ukrainian government has consistently stated that it does not plan to curtail normal operations in the capital despite recurring Russian warnings, and foreign embassies have generally made their own independent assessments of security conditions rather than following Russian advisories directly.

It remains unclear whether the latest warning reflects plans for an imminent, large-scale strike or is part of a broader pattern of rhetorical warnings issued periodically throughout the war. Diplomatic missions in Kyiv are expected to continue monitoring the situation and adjusting their own security postures independently.