Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chair of the Russian security council, has mocked the European Union’s refusal to remove diplomats from Kyiv.
Medvedev, who is also a former Russian President stated, “The EU has said it will maintain its diplomatic presence in Kiev unchanged, despite Russia’s warnings.” “Well, apparently they’ve got diplomats to spare and need to trim the headcount,” he added.
On Monday, May 25, 2026, Russia urged foreign citizens, including members of diplomatic missions, to leave the Ukrainian capital as quickly as possible and told residents to steer clear of military and government facilities. It said that “systemic strikes” on Kyiv were being prepared.
A foreign ministry statement disclosed that Russia’s Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio by phone that the U.S. should evacuate its diplomatic staff from Kyiv. Rubio didn’t say whether the U.S. State Department would take that step, but expressed concern during a trip to India that the “terrible” war in Ukraine could escalate further.
Meanwhile, there were no announcements of diplomatic departures from Kyiv. The European Union, French and Polish delegations publicly said that they would not leave.
Russia has regularly bombarded Kyiv, often causing dozens of civilian casualties with every attack, since it launched an all-out invasion of neighboring Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.
Ukraine’s foreign ministry said in a statement late Monday that the level of security threats posed by Russia to Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities “remains the same as in previous years and months.” It pointed out that Russia has continuously launched missile and drone attacks on the capital, adding that Ukraine was prepared to assist diplomatic missions seeking additional security measures.
Andrei Kartapolov, Head of the defense affairs committee in Russia’s State Duma, said that the Ukrainian parliament and presidential office aren’t among potential targets.
Kartapolov said that possible attacks could aim at underground bunkers used by various branches of Ukraine’s armed forces, security agencies and other government structures. Kartapolov said in remarks carried by Parlamentskaya Gazeta, the official publication of the Russian parliament, “Those are well-concealed and fortified facilities, and our task is to spot and target them with the weapons we have.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that sophisticated American-made air defense systems that Ukraine needs in order to stop Russian ballistic missiles are in short supply because of the Iran war. “Unfortunately, there has been no progress for a long time with America on expanding the production of anti-ballistic capabilities,” Zelenskyy said on social media late Monday, adding that Kyiv is working with Europe to improve its own anti-ballistic capabilities in sufficient quantities.
He said that Ukrainian battlefield gains in recent months have enabled it to “stabilize” the 1,250-kilometer (780-mile) front line in eastern and southern Ukraine, suggesting that Kyiv’s forces are holding their own against Russia’s bigger army.
Russian Envoys Summoned
Today, the European Union summoned Russia’s representative in Brussels to convey its concerns over Russian warnings telling foreigners and diplomats to leave Kyiv amid planned new strikes on the Ukrainian capital, with Spokesperson Anitta Hipper accusing Russia of “trying to sow panic.”
“[Russian] threat to foreign citizens & diplomats to leave Kyiv is an unacceptable escalation. @eu_eeas summoned the Chargé d’Affairs, calling to stop hitting civilians & [Russia] to engage in genuine peace talks starting with a full and unconditional ceasefire. @EUDelegationUA stays in Kyiv.”
Anitta Hipper
Earlier, she told the commission’s daily press briefing that the threat “shows once more, actually, one thing that we already knew, that Russia is absolutely not interested in any peace and has a total disregard for all the efforts towards the peace.”
French Foreign Ministry Spokesman Pascal Confavreux called the Russian threat “new intimidation from Moscow.”
Norway also summoned the top Russian diplomat in the country. In a statement, Norway’s Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide confirmed the top diplomat was summoned to “protest against the threats against foreign personnel in Ukraine that Russia has made in recent days.”
“We also emphasised that we have condemned Russia’s violent attacks on Kyiv this weekend. Russia is behind very extensive drone attacks, in addition to using the Oreshnik missile against Kyiv for the first time. It is unacceptable.”
Espen Barth Eide
Additionally, Germany and the Netherlands joined in to summon the Russian ambassadors to their countries over attacks on Ukraine and requests for foreign diplomats to leave the capital city of Kyiv.
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