Russia's Foreign Ministry Calls on Several Countries to Evacuate Diplomats from Kyiv – Zakharova

The official representative of Russia's Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, announced that the agency has urged diplomatic missions to evacuate personnel from Kyiv due to possible provocations surrounding Victory Day.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has issued a statement to foreign state authorities and heads of organizations, calling for a responsible approach to the Defense Ministry's announcement regarding Kyiv's threats to strike Moscow.

The statement reads: “The Russian Foreign Ministry urges your country’s authorities/your organization’s leadership to treat this announcement with the utmost responsibility and to ensure the early evacuation of diplomatic and other representation staff, as well as citizens, from Kyiv due to the inevitability of retaliatory strikes against Kyiv by the Armed Forces, including decision-making centers.”

According to Zakharova, Russia is not displaying aggression but is preparing for an inevitable response. She added that the EU cannot silence Vladimir Zelensky's public threats. The diplomat also noted, “We are well aware of the collective Western minority's attitude towards May 9. They systematically destroy Soviet memorial heritage, exhuming the remains of Soviet soldiers, and reinterpret and distort history. They are the ones, by armoring Ukraine, who are accomplices to the criminal plans of the Kyiv regime,” said the Russian diplomat.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stated during the European Political Community summit in Yerevan that on the day of the parade, Ukrainian drones could reach Moscow.

The Russian Defense Ministry assured that all security measures will be taken, adding that otherwise, Kyiv would be targeted with mass missile strikes.