The European Union has summoned Russia’s chief diplomat in Brussels, after Moscow warned foreign citizens and accredited diplomats in Kiev to leave the city ahead of new strikes on the Ukrainian capital, notes Kyiv Post.
“The threat from Russia to foreign citizens and diplomats to leave Kiev represents an unacceptable escalation,” stated the EU spokesperson, Anitta Hipper, in a statement published on Tuesday. She clarified that the Russian representative was told that in Kiev they must “stop hitting civilians.”
The move from Brussels came after the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on Monday that Russian forces have begun “systematic strikes” against Ukrainian military industry installations in Kiev and what it called “decision-making centers”.
At the same time, the ministry urged foreign citizens and diplomatic staff to evacuate the city. Shortly after this warning, Russian Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, told US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a phone conversation, that Washington should evacuate its diplomats from the US Embassy in Kiev, according to the Kremlin.
Details, HERE