European countries and EU summon Russian envoys over threats on Kyiv

Germany, the Netherlands, Norway and the European Union have summoned Russian envoys a day after Moscow warned foreigners and diplomats to leave the Ukrainian capital ahead of renewed air strikes.

On Tuesday, EU spokesperson Anitta Hipper called Russia’s threat to diplomats and foreign citizens an “unacceptable escalation”.

Hipper added in a post on X that the charge d’affairs had been summoned, calling on Moscow to “stop hitting civilians & Russia to engage in genuine peace talks starting with a full and unconditional ceasefire”.

At the beginning of May, Russia and Ukraine agreed to a three-day ceasefire for Moscow’s celebrations to mark its victory over Nazi Germany in 1945 at the end of World War II, but fighting quickly resumed with both sides accusing the other of violating the agreement.

On Monday, Moscow said that it planned to launch more strikes on Kyiv after it launched a barrage of drones and missiles on Ukraine over the weekend that killed four people.

Among the weapons Russia used in its attacks were its Oreshknik hypersonic missile, which can travel 10 times the speed of sound.

The warning came after Russia accused Ukraine of targeting a vocational school last week in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region that killed 21 people.

Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered his military on Friday to prepare options for retaliation in response to the attack.

“Under the current circumstances, the Russian Armed Forces are starting to launch systematic strikes against Ukrainian military-industrial facilities in Kyiv,” Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Monday.

“The strikes will target both decision-making centres and command posts … We are warning foreign citizens, including personnel of diplomatic missions and international organisations, to leave the city as soon as possible,” it added.

But in response to the call to leave the country, Germany’s Federal Foreign Office said on Tuesday that Moscow was resorting to “threats, terror & escalation”, which is why they summoned the Russian ambassador.

“We made it clear to Russia today: We will not be intimidated by threats and will continue to support Ukraine with full force,” the ministry wrote on X.

Norway and the Netherlands also summoned their Russian ambassadors over threats to attack Kyiv.

With no clear end to the war in sight, United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio reiterated on Tuesday that Washington had remained ready to mediate between Russia and Ukraine, as talks have stalled.