Russia’s threats to launch fresh strikes on Kyiv are a “sign of desperation,” says the EU Ambassador to Ukraine. The Kremlin warns of systematic strikes on Kyiv, claims indifference to Europe’s reaction. Tsikhanouskaya visits Kyiv as a Belarus representative at a multi-country summit.
Russia’s threats to launch fresh strikes on Kyiv are a “sign of desperation,” says EU Ambassador to Ukraine
Foreign diplomats will not leave Kyiv, EU Ambassador to Ukraine, Katarína Mathernová said, according to a statement issued by the EU Delegation to Ukraine on Monday. Her words come in response to Russia’s threats to launch a fresh wave of strikes against Kyiv and a warning for foreign nationals to leave the capital. Mathernová called the threats voiced by the Russian foreign ministry on Monday “a masterpiece of hypocrisy.”
“russia threatens diplomats and foreigners again, asking us to leave Kyiv. But we are not going anywhere! Today’s statement of the russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a masterpiece of hypocrisy. A regime that has spent years bombing residential buildings, museums, maternity wards, schools and power stations now suddenly speaks the language of ‘international humanitarian law’ and ‘Geneva conventions’. The same regime that launches nightly missile and drone attacks on civilians now warns others to stay away. We understand exactly what this means. Russia wants fear. Panic. Isolation of Ukraine. It will not work. The EU is not going anywhere. We are staying in Kyiv. We are staying with Ukraine,” Mathernová said.
Russia’s threats to the diplomatic corps are a sign of desperation, not strength, she continued.
“The more aggressive and threatening the Kremlin becomes, the clearer it is that Putin’s regime understands it cannot break Ukraine’s resilience, nor the support of its partners. Kyiv stands. Ukraine stands. And so do we,” Mathernová said.
Kremlin warns of systematic strikes on Kyiv, claims indifference to Europe’s reaction
Russian strikes on Kyiv could be regular, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday without specifying the frequency. His answers suggest Europe’s response to the threat was insignificant.
“Systematic does not mean regular [strikes]. Systematic is not the same as regular,” Peskov said, answering a question if a statement by the Russian foreign ministry about planned strikes on Kyiv announces daily attacks.
The Kremlin has no information on the U.S. reaction to the warning, he continued.
Peskov said they are aware of “some official statements made by European capitals” and EU representatives in Kyiv. Yet the Kremlin’s priority is “a warning we sent.”
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Russia would be targeting Ukrainian “decision-making centers” and urged Washington to evacuate its embassy, a Russian Foreign Ministry readout said.
“Putin had asked him to call me to relay the message directly to the President, which I did,” Rubio told reporters on Monday. He also said he was aware of the notice to all embassies.
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.”
Tsikhanouskaya visits Kyiv as Belarus representative at multi-country summit
Kyiv hosted the International Summit of Cities and Regions on Tuesday. Among the participants were European countries bordering Ukraine, including Belarus, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said on X Tuesday.
“Today in Kyiv, a Summit is taking place that has brought together 24 countries, primarily from Europe. All of our European neighbors are represented: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Moldova, Romania, and Belarus,” Zelenskyi said.
He described his meeting with exiled Belarus opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya that visited Kyiv that day. He said the situation in Belarus and the risks of increased Russian hold of the country were among the issues discussed.
“We all support the aspiration of the Belarusian people to free themselves from Russian interference, and we know that Russia is now trying to drag Belarus even deeper into this war against Ukraine. We value every expression of support from Belarusians for a free Ukraine, and we know that the day will come when there will once again be good-neighborly relations between our states – based on the real independence of both Ukraine and Belarus from Moscow.
“This is exactly what we discussed today with Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her team, who are visiting Kyiv. Ukraine has never been a threat to Belarus. And we are grateful to those Belarusians who stand with Ukraine – now, when the fate of both our independence and the independence of every nation that borders Russia is being decided,” Zelenskyi said.