Moscow: foreigners and diplomats leave Kiev, we will continue reprisals

Moscow called on foreign citizens, diplomats and staff of international organisations to leave Kiev 'as soon as possible', announcing new attacks against military targets in the Ukrainian capital.

In a note released by Moscow's Foreign Ministry, the Kremlin suggests that Russian armed forces are conducting "a systematic series of attacks against facilities of the Ukrainian military-industrial complex", including sites where drones employed by Kiev are "designed, manufactured, programmed and prepared". "The attacks will target both decision-making centres and command posts," reads the statement, which also urges residents of the Ukrainian capital to avoid areas close to the military and administrative infrastructure of the 'Zelensky regime'.

Moscow presented the escalation as a response to the raid attributed to Ukrainian forces against the Luhansk State Pedagogical University in Starobilsk on the night of 22 May. In the same note, the Russian Foreign Ministry accuses Kiev and its Western allies of violating international humanitarian law, claiming that 'the straw that broke the camel's back' was that very attack.

The Ukrainian response came from Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who called the Russian threats an attempt to intimidate the international diplomatic community in particular. "We do not expect this blackmail to work," Sybiha said, explaining that he had accompanied representatives of more than 70 diplomatic missions to the places affected by the recent Russian bombardment of Kiev. The minister also urged Western allies to react with new sanctions against Moscow.

On the domestic front, the Ukrainian counter-intelligence announced the arrest of an 18-year-old Kiev resident, accused of coordinating one of the largest air attacks against the capital on the night of 24 May. This was reported by the Ukrinform agency, according to which the young man was identified during an operation by the security services.