Russian FM to Rubio: Ensure evacuation of US diplomats, citizens from Kyiv; EU rejects Moscow's warning, says 'We are not going anywhere'

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov urged the United States to evacuate diplomats from its embassy in Kyiv during a phone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday (May 25), according to Russia’s foreign ministry. "On May 25, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio," the ministry said in a statement. "Sergei Lavrov drew attention to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement from May 25, which recommended that the United States, along with other states with missions in Kyiv, ensure the evacuation of their diplomatic personnel and other citizens from the Ukrainian capital," it added.

Russia said on Monday that it planned to intensify strikes on Kyiv, including attacks targeting its ‘decision-making centres’, while again urging foreign diplomats and civilians to leave the Ukrainian capital. Over the weekend, Russia launched dozens of drones and missiles at Ukraine, killing four people, injuring dozens more, and causing widespread damage across Kyiv. Moscow said one of the weapons used in the barrage was the Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which it claims can travel at 10 times the speed of sound and carry nuclear warheads.

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The attacks came days after Russia accused Kyiv of striking a vocational school in the Russian-occupied Lugansk region, allegedly killing 21 people. Russian President Vladimir Putin subsequently ordered retaliation. "Under the current circumstances, the Russian Armed Forces are starting to launch systematic strikes against Ukrainian military-industrial facilities in Kyiv," Russia's foreign ministry said in a statement. "The strikes will target both decision-making centres and command posts... We are warning foreign citizens, including personnel of diplomatic missions and international organisations, to leave the city as soon as possible," it added.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov relayed the warning to US counterpart Marco Rubio in a phone call on Monday, urging him to evacuate US diplomats, Russia's foreign ministry said. There was no immediate response from the United States.

'We are not going anywhere'

Russia had previously issued similar warnings earlier this month, threatening major strikes on central Kyiv if Ukraine disrupted a military parade on Moscow’s Red Square. Western diplomatic missions have rejected the evacuation warnings. A spokesperson for France’s foreign ministry said on Monday: "We're used to Putin's threats. It is out of the question to evacuate". The European Union’s ambassador in Kyiv wrote on Facebook: "We are not going anywhere."

Ukraine dismissed Russia’s warnings as ‘rhetoric’. "We are now telling our partners that they should not give in to all this Russian blackmail," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said. Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, triggering Europe’s deadliest conflict since World War II. Efforts led by the United States to negotiate an end to the war have stalled in recent months amid escalating tensions in the Middle East.