Russia pressures U.S., Ukraine’s allies to flee Kyiv, threatening ‘systematic strikes’

Moscow says more attacks like it could be coming.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry warned Monday that it would conduct “systematic strikes” against military targets in Kyiv, including what it called “decision-making centers.”

It said this would be in retaliation for a drone attack last week that authorities said killed 21 people including students at a college in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine. Kyiv’s armed forces have denied the accusation, saying they were aiming at a military unit near the town. Ukraine has been striking deeper inside Russia in recent months, creating increasingly uncomfortable optics for the Kremlin.

Ukrainian cities, meanwhile, face near daily attacks from Russian missiles and drones, causing extensive damage and thousands of civilian casualties.

But the Russian Foreign Ministry said things would now get more intense for the Ukrainian capital, adding that the deadly attack on the college in Luhansk has “exhausted our patience.”

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday refused to provide details on the frequency of potential strikes.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov raised the new threat in a call with Rubio on Monday, according to the Russian readout, informing the U.S. on behalf of Russian President Vladimir Putin of the impending “systematic and sequential strikes” on Kyiv and reiterating the call for U.S. diplomatic staff to evacuate.

U.S.-led peace talks to end the war have stalled, with President Donald Trump focused on the Iran war.

Asked about the call on Tuesday, Rubio said he was aware of the notice to all embassies, but that Lavrov was warning him personally that “Kyiv’s going to be a very dangerous place” and wanted Rubio to relay the message directly to Trump. There are no “scheduled negotiations” on Ukraine at the moment, Rubio added, but “the U.S. is always prepared to play a constructive and helpful role if that opportunity presents itself.”

Some U.S. allies responded less even-handedly.

“We are not going anywhere!” the head of the E.U. mission in Kyiv, Katarina Mathernova, wrote in a statement on Facebook, calling the warning from Russia’s Foreign Ministry “a masterpiece of hypocrisy” and an attempt to sow panic.

Such threats are not a sign of strength, she added, “they are a sign of desperation.”

France and Poland were also among Ukraine’s allies that condemned the threat and rejected the warning to flee.