Russia threatens strikes on Kyiv defence sites, urges foreigners to leave
Escalation of Conflict and International Reactions
KYIV, May 25 (Reuters) - Russia said on Monday that it intended to launch "systematic strikes" on targets in Kyiv linked to the Ukrainian military as well as decision-making centres, and urged foreigners to leave, a day after one of its heaviest bombardments of the city since the start of the war.
Ukrainian and International Responses
But Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged Kyiv's allies not to give in to "Russian blackmail." And the head of the EU mission in the city said the 27-nation bloc was "not going anywhere."
Russian Justifications for Strikes
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to a Russian Foreign Ministry statement, that the impending strikes were "in response to the continuing terrorist attacks by the Kyiv regime" against civilians in Russia.
The statement said Russia's armed forces "are starting systematic strikes on facilities located in Kyiv that are used for the needs of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as on centres where the corresponding decisions are being made."
An earlier Russian Foreign Ministry statement urged foreigners, including diplomats, to leave Kyiv as quickly as possible.
Claims and Counterclaims
Russia has cited what it describes as a deliberate drone strike last Friday on a student dorm in the Russian-controlled Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine's military denied the Russian accusations and said it had struck an elite drone command unit in the area.
Impact of Recent Strikes on Kyiv
In Kyiv, rescuers tackled the aftermath of Sunday's strikes, which authorities said had killed two people and injured 91.
Moscow fired an Oreshnik hypersonic missile near Kyiv - its third use of the nuclear-capable weapon in more than four years of war.
Statements from Ukrainian Officials
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha wrote on the social media platform X: "We are currently discussing with our partners that there is no need to give in to this Russian blackmail."
EU's Position in Kyiv
The head of the EU mission in Kyiv, Katarina Mathernova, said the Russian warning sought to sow panic.
"Russia wants fear. Panic. Isolation of Ukraine. It will not work," she said on social media. "The EU is not going anywhere. We are staying in Kyiv. We are staying with Ukraine.
Damage to Infrastructure and International Solidarity
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said around 300 sites across Kyiv had been damaged in the weekend strikes, including a newly opened museum devoted to the 1986 Chornobyl nuclear disaster.
More than 70 foreign diplomats paid their respects to the victims of the strikes in Kyiv, visiting the heavily damaged neighbourhood of Lukyanivka on Monday.
Attacks in Russia and Ukraine
ATTACKS IN RUSSIA, UKRAINE
Ukrainian Strikes on Russian Territory
Meanwhile, Ukraine continued its own attacks against Russian infrastructure and industrial assets.
In Russia's Belgorod region, one man was killed and another injured in a missile and drone attack that also cut power and water supplies, local authorities said on Telegram.
The Russia-installed head of parts of eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region, Denis Pushilin, said seven people were killed in Ukrainian attacks, including a family of four whose car was struck in the industrial town of Horlivka.
Russian Strikes on Ukrainian Territory
In Ukrainian-held territory, two people were killed and 16 wounded in Russian attacks over 24 hours in the southern Kherson region, regional governor Oleksandr Prokudin said on Telegram.
In a missile attack on Monday on the town of Derhachi near Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-biggest city, two people were killed and more than 20 injured, officials said.
In the Black Sea port of Odesa, a frequent Russian target, the city's top official said one person was killed and three injured in a Russian strike.
A further 14 were wounded in the southeastern Dnipropetrovsk region, officials said. Emergency services said drones attacked a nine-storey apartment building in the town of Pavlohrad.
The governor of those parts of Donetsk region held by Ukraine, Vadym Filashkin, said 12 people had been hurt in the frontline city of Kramatorsk.
Verification and Ongoing Mediation Efforts
Reuters could not independently verify the reports. Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians since Russia invaded its neighbour in February 2022.
U.S. mediation has failed to broker an end to the war. Each side accuses the other of seeking to escalate the conflict, and Ukraine plans to send reinforcements to its northern regions to counter what it believes are Russian plans for a new offensive.
Diplomatic and Military Developments
Zelenskiy, in his nightly address, said Ukraine had made little progress with the United States in expanding production of anti-missile defences. He also repeated that Kyiv was "expecting new diplomatic measures" from Washington.
(Reporting by Jekaterīna Golubkova in Tokyo and Alessandra Prentice in London; Additional reporting by Anna Pruchnicka in Gdansk, Editing by Kate Mayberry, Ros Russell, Gareth Jones and Ron Popeski; Editing by Nick Zieminski)
