Russia warns Kyiv residents, foreign missions’ representatives to leave Ukrainian capital

Russia on Monday warned Kyiv residents, including diplomatic personnel and representatives of international organizations, to leave the Ukrainian capital “as soon as possible,” as well as avoid military and administrative infrastructure facilities.

In a statement on Telegram, the Foreign Ministry said Russia would carry out “systematic strikes” on facilities linked to Ukraine’s military-industrial complex in Kyiv following what it described as a “bloody attack” on an academic building and dormitory in the Russia-controlled Luhansk region that killed 21 students.

“All of this has reached the breaking point,” the ministry said.

According to the statement, the strikes would target sites where drones are designed, manufactured, programmed, and prepared for Ukraine’s use “with the assistance of NATO specialists responsible for supplying components, providing intelligence and targeting.”

“The strikes will target both decision-making centers and command posts,” it added.

Earlier on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said four people were killed and about 100 injured in Russia’s overnight strikes, which Moscow said were in response to a Ukrainian attack on a college building.

The attack came after Moscow said on Friday that Ukraine struck a college building and dormitory in the city of Starobilsk in the Russia-controlled part of the Luhansk Region.

Regional authorities said the death toll from the attack rose to 21 after search and rescue operations were completed on Sunday.

Ukraine rejected Russia’s allegations, saying its forces target military infrastructure and facilities used for military purposes while “strictly adhering to the norms of international humanitarian law, laws and customs of war.”

Independent verification of the claims remains difficult due to the war that has continued since 2022.