Putin Escalates Threat Against Kyiv, Urges Foreign Nationals to Leave Immediately

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent an unusual message today (Wednesday) to the United States, announcing that the Russian army would begin "systematic strikes" on Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital. Putin called on diplomats and foreign nationals to leave "immediately," and Russian officials published a parallel statement warning that anyone who does not leave could be harmed.

As previously reported, two days ago Russia announced that it was planning to launch "systematic and consistent strikes" against military targets and "decision-making centers" in Ukraine’s capital — and therefore Washington should evacuate civilians and diplomats. According to Britain’s "Daily Mail," Putin asked that the warning be conveyed personally to U.S. President Donald Trump.

According to the report, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio two days ago and informed him of this. The secretary of state added that there are currently no active negotiations with Ukraine, but said Washington is prepared "to play a constructive and useful role if an opportunity arises."

In response to the threat, the European Union, Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, and Poland summoned Russia’s ambassadors for talks, and the EU described the Russian demand to evacuate diplomats and foreign nationals from Kyiv as "an unacceptable escalation."

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called on Kyiv’s allies not to give in to "Russian blackmail," and the European Union’s ambassador to Ukraine, Katarína Mathernová, made clear that the EU delegation would not leave the city. "Russia wants fear, panic, and the isolation of Ukraine. It will not work. The European Union is not going anywhere. We are staying in Kyiv, we are staying with Ukraine," she said.

It should be noted that over the past week, Russia carried out two powerful attacks on Ukrainian cities, with an emphasis on Kyiv, where 4 people were killed. Nearly 100 were injured.

The "Wall Street Journal" reported that a threatening message was also delivered by Russian officials to the Baltic states. Among other things, the Russians threatened to strike "decision-making centers" in Latvia after accusing it of hosting Ukrainian drone operators. In Lithuania, according to the report, alarms were heard last week after suspected drones approached its airspace from the direction of Belarus. Moscow claims that those countries are assisting Ukraine.

It was also reported that NATO is planning to strengthen defenses on its eastern flank — especially in Latvia and Estonia. According to the Reuters news agency, Germany and the Netherlands reached an agreement, in coordination with NATO, under which a command framework the size of the German-Dutch Corps, based in the city of Münster in Germany, will receive responsibility for the defense of Latvia and Estonia in the event of a war with Russia. NATO maintains forces in the three Baltic states and in northern Poland.