Russia’s Foreign Ministry warns diplomats to evacuate Kyiv ahead of “inevitable” retaliatory strike
Foreign diplomats in Kyiv were urged to consider leaving the Ukrainian capital after Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued what it cast as a safety warning tied to an “inevitable” strike.
In a message dated May 6, Moscow’s foreign ministry called on foreign governments to treat the notice “with the utmost responsibility” and to ensure the “timely evacuation” of diplomatic and other mission staff from Kyiv, citing the “inevitability of a retaliatory strike on Kyiv by Russia’s Armed Forces,” according to Al Jazeera’s account of the statement by spokesperson Maria Zakharova. The warning was framed as precautionary guidance ahead of what Russia described as possible mass strikes on the city. [1]
From Kyiv, Ukrainian officials rejected the premise that Russia was acting defensively, and President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Moscow had ignored an earlier Ukrainian ceasefire proposal he described as a test of whether the Kremlin was serious about offering a brief respite in the now four-year war, The Hindu reported. [3]
The latest exchange lands in a conflict that has repeatedly mixed battlefield escalation with diplomatic signaling since tensions surged in late 2021, including U.S. warnings to President Vladimir Putin on December 8, 2021 about the consequences of an invasion and Zelenskyy’s decision to remain in Kyiv as Russian forces breached the capital on February 25, 2022. [1]
Timeline· Live
As Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine enters its sixth year, the conflict intensifies with relentless Russian drone and missile attacks causing widespread casualties and infrastructure damage across Ukraine, including recent massive strikes on Kyiv and strategic targets, while diplomatic tensions escalate globally marked by EU and UK sanctions, Russia's nuclear missile tests, and President Putin's scaled-back Victory Day parade; Ukraine continues to mount targeted counterstrikes using advanced drones and robots, peace efforts involve high-profile international figures such as former US President Trump meeting with China's Xi Jinping amid ongoing bipartisan US aid support, Moscow enforces strict social media bans to control conflict narratives, and regional political instability persists, highlighted by the recent resignation of Latvia’s Prime Minister Evika Silina amid a controversy over drone incursions, all underscoring the enduring human toll and geopolitical complexity of the war.
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Sources (3)
Published May 6, 2026
Synthesized from 3 sources