The European Union (EU) summoned Russia's top diplomatic representative in Brussels on Tuesday after Moscow called on foreign diplomats to leave Kiev, warning that the capital could be subject to missile strikes.
"[Russia's] threat to foreign citizens and diplomats to leave Kiev is an unacceptable escalation," wrote EU External Action Service spokeswoman Anita Hipper in X. She added that she had summoned the acting head of Moscow's embassy in the bloc, Karen Malayan, to demand that the Kremlin "stop hitting civilians" and "to engage in genuine peace talks starting with a complete and unconditional ceasefire".
The Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday urged foreign nationals and diplomats to leave Kiev "as soon as possible", warning of the risk of missile strikes on the capital. Over the weekend, Russia fired more than 80 missiles at Kiev, with Ukrainian authorities saying civilian buildings were hit and 87 people were injured.
During a briefing, Anita Hipper accused Moscow of "sowing panic" with its warnings. She said: "They want fear and isolation in Ukraine and elsewhere, but we have a clear message that this will not work". "The EU maintains its presence and operations in Kiev and these threats reek of desperation."
The EU ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Maternova, stressed: "The EU is not going anywhere", confirming that the diplomatic mission will remain in Kiev. France said it was "impossible to evacuate" its staff, while Poland warned that any attacks on its embassy would be "treated as hostile acts".
The German foreign ministry described the Russian warnings as a sign of escalation and said it was "continuously assessing the security situation" in Kiev.
The tensions come after new Russian strikes, which Moscow presents as a response to a Ukrainian attack on occupied Starobilsk, in which a student dormitory was hit and 21 people aged between 18 and 21 were killed. Ukraine denies that a civilian facility was hit, saying a military target was attacked.
Diplomats from more than 70 countries, along with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiha, visited the site of the weekend strikes. The mission included representatives from EU countries including Sweden, Austria, Ireland and Lithuania.
Earlier in May, Russia also called for the evacuation of diplomatic staff from Kiev, a move that was rejected by European officials at the time.