Russia warned of systematic strikes on Kyiv and told foreigners to leave; the EU, Germany, Norway and Netherlands summoned Russian diplomats in response.
5:10 PM
The European Union and several European nations summoned Russian diplomatic envoys on Tuesday following Moscow's threats of renewed strikes on Kyiv and its warning to foreign citizens and diplomats to evacuate the Ukrainian capital.
EU spokesperson Anitta Hipper announced at a Brussels briefing that the Russian charge d'affaires had been summoned. "We have just summoned the Russian charge d'affaires and conveyed our message that this is unacceptable," Hipper said. "This once again shows one thing we already knew: Russia is absolutely not interested in any peace and completely ignores all efforts aimed at achieving peace."
Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the EU each took the step of summoning Russian envoys. Hipper characterized Russia's threat to diplomats and foreign citizens as "an unacceptable escalation" and called on Moscow to "stop hitting civilians" and "engage in genuine peace talks starting with a full and unconditional withdrawal."
Russia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement on Monday announcing plans to target "decision-making centres and command posts" and drone manufacturing facilities in Kyiv through a series of strikes. The statement warned "foreign citizens, including personnel of diplomatic missions and international organisations" to leave the city "as soon as possible," citing the alleged scattering of these facilities throughout Kyiv.
The threats followed a major Russian bombardment of Kyiv on Sunday, described as one of the larger attacks on the capital during the four-year invasion. Russia said the strikes were in response to Ukrainian long-range drone activity and indicated that Sunday's attack would not be a one-off.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres expressed deep concern over the Russian announcements. Speaking at a high-level open debate of the UN Security Council, Guterres said he was "deeply concerned by a recent announcement by the Russian Federation to launch consistent and systemic strikes against Ukrainian defense enterprises in Kyiv – as well as against decision making centers and command posts."
Ukraine's foreign ministry assessed that "the overall level of security threats posed by Russia to Kyiv and other cities remains the same as previous months and years," noting that Russia has been targeting towns and cities weekly for more than four years.
The EU confirmed it would continue supporting Ukraine. Hipper stated that Ukraine "needs air defense and further financial support." She announced that EU foreign ministers would hold an informal meeting in Cyprus in the coming days to discuss "increasing international pressure on Russia with the High Representative."
Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov told Secretary of State Rubio that Moscow will continue systematic strikes on Ukrainian capital facilities.
A massive Russian aerial attack on Kyiv overnight killed at least eight people and injured dozens more, with search and rescue operations ongoing.
Ukraine and Latvia rejected Moscow's allegations that Ukrainian forces are preparing strikes from Latvian territory, calling them disinformation.
President Zelensky says Ukrainian long-range strikes have reached Perm, Chelyabinsk, and Yekaterinburg, targeting Russia's military-industrial complex.
Russian forces conducted nearly 100 attacks across three days on Ukrainian region, targeting civilian infrastructure and residential areas.
Ukraine expects additional Council of Europe member states to join the Enlarged Partial Agreement on the Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression before a May ministerial meeting in Chișinău.