Moscow urges foreign missions to evacuate diplomats, citizens from Kiev
Moscow has formally warned all diplomatic missions and international organizations about a potential large-scale retaliatory strike on Kiev, urging them to leave the Ukrainian capital immediately, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said.
Earlier this week, the Russian Defense Ministry announced a two-day ceasefire on May 8–9 to mark the end of World War II in Europe, urging Kiev to follow suit and warning of a potential large-scale retaliatory strike on Kiev. The ministry pointed to comments made by Vladimir Zelensky earlier in the day, which it said contained threats to target Moscow during the Victory Day celebrations.
Moscow’s warning must be taken with the utmost seriousness, Zakharova said in a statement on Wednesday. The spokeswoman revealed that the Foreign Ministry had sent a formal note to all diplomatic missions and international organizations accredited in Russia, urging them to withdraw their personnel from the Ukrainian capital ahead of a potential retaliatory strike.
“The Foreign Ministry urgently calls on the government of your country/the leadership of your organization to treat this statement with the utmost seriousness and to ensure the timely evacuation from the city of Kiev of the personnel of diplomatic and other missions, as well as civilians, in view of the inevitable retaliatory strike by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation on Kiev, including against decision-making centers” should Ukraine proceed with its “criminal terrorist plans,” the note reads, as quoted by Zakharova.
Russia is “well-aware” of the Western attitude toward Victory Day and the efforts to “rewrite history” and “systematically destroy Soviet memorial heritage,” Zakharova stated. “As they continue to supply Ukraine with weapons, they are acting as accomplices in the criminal plans hatched by the Kiev regime. However, the instinct for self-preservation should not fail them,” she added.
It still remains unclear whether Kiev would actually heed Moscow’s call and observe the May 8–9 ceasefire. After the Russian Defense Ministry’s announcement, Zelensky branded the truce “unfair” and claimed that “no one officially suggested anything” to Kiev. Hours later, he unilaterally declared a ceasefire starting at midnight on the night of May 5–6, adding that Kiev would “act reciprocally” to Moscow’s actions.
Russia produced no official response to Zelensky’s announcement. While media reports indicated that the intensity of long-range strikes launched by both sides had somewhat waned, the hostilities continued. Despite the lack of any confirmation coming from Russia about its adherence to the Zelensky-proposed truce, the Ukrainian leader has accused it of violating the supposed ceasefire nearly 2,000 times throughout Wednesday and choosing “an obvious spurning… of saving lives.”
Throughout the Ukraine conflict, Russia has repeatedly declared ceasefires during major holidays. The pauses have proven to be successful to varying degrees , with both sides accusing their opponents of numerous violations. Last month, for instance, Moscow declared an Easter truce, which the Russian military said was violated by the Ukrainians more than 6,500 times within just 32 hours.
