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Moscow Issues Warning to Foreign Diplomats to Leave Kyiv Before May 9
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The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has issued an official notice to all accredited diplomatic missions and international organizations, advising them to evacuate their personnel from Kyiv.
Maria Zakharova, the spokesperson for the Ministry, announced the move on Wednesday evening, according to Meduza on May 6.
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That statement threatened strikes against Ukraine due to what Moscow described as "threats by the Kyiv regime to strike Moscow on a holiday sacred to all Russians — Victory Day."
The Foreign Ministry stated that the warnings from the military should be treated "with maximum responsibility." The document called for the "advance evacuation" of foreign diplomats from the capital of Ukraine, citing the "inevitability of a retaliatory [Russian] strike" against Kyiv and "decision-making centers" if an attack occurs on May 9.
Zakharova stated that recent events have led to this current escalation. She claimed that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had threatened to "disrupt Victory Day in Moscow with terrorist acts." According to Zakharova, the Russian Ministry of Defense published its own warnings on the same day in response to these claims.
"We are not acting from a position of aggression; we are acting from a position of an inevitable response to aggression," Zakharova stated during the announcement.
On May 6, President Zelenskyy addressed the situation, accusing Russia of violating a "silence mode" during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. He noted that Ukraine "will act in a mirror-like manner".
Zelenskyy added on Wednesday evening that the Ukrainian government will determine "our quite fair responses" based on the situation during the night and the following day.
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