Just days after the most widespread attacks on Kyiv since the start of a full-scale war in 2022, Russia has threatened to launch a new wave of systematic attacks on the Ukrainian capital, the BBC writes.
The Russian Foreign Ministry has informed that the new attacks will be directed at command posts and control centers, as well as at drone factories. Moscow has called on foreign citizens and diplomats to leave Kiev as soon as possible, and has warned Ukrainians to avoid administrative and military buildings.
Ukraine has stated that Russia’s threats are nothing more than brazen blackmail, and has called on allies to increase pressure on Moscow. The Kyiv statement also said that, by warning foreign citizens, Moscow admits that its attacks are also aimed at intimidating representatives of the foreign diplomatic corps. Ukrainians said Russian strikes on Kyiv had not stopped for a week since the war began, and the overall security threat posed by Moscow was at the same level as in previous years or months.
Large-scale attacks on Kiev and elsewhere on the 23rd of May killed four people and injured about 100. Moscow said the attacks and the planned attacks were in response to Ukraine’s attack on student dormitories in Starobilsk. The Ukrainian military said its forces had shot down a Russian drone near Starobilsk in Russian-occupied eastern Ukraine and had not attacked civilians.
After a brief ceasefire around the 9th of May, Russia launched several waves of attacks on Ukraine.
On the evening of the 25th of May, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called on US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to evacuate American diplomats from Kyiv. After speaking with Lavrov, Rubio said the major strikes from both Russia and Ukraine were a stark reminder that “this is a terrible war” and that it must end. Rubio said the United States was ready to do whatever it could to help end the war, and hoped that at some point there would be an opportunity.
Many saw Russia’s call to evacuate foreign diplomats as psychological pressure. Russia has been carrying out regular, large-scale attacks on Kyiv since the start of the full-scale war.
Four and a half years of full-scale war have allowed Ukraine to develop an extensive and multi-layered air defense system. Most drones and missiles are currently intercepted, but Russia often launches them at such a rate that defense systems cannot intercept them all. Ukraine also relies heavily on systems supplied by other countries to intercept Russian missiles. In March, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested that the country could face a shortage of weapons due to the Iran war.
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