The embassies of the European Union (EU) countries have assured that they will remain in Kyiv, despite the Russian threats.
A joint statement from the EU mission in Ukraine said that the countries "have noted with concern" the threats by the Russian Foreign Ministry against diplomats and foreign citizens in Ukraine, but continue to work in Kyiv.
"Russia is obliged to comply with the Vienna Convention and the norms of international humanitarian law," the EU mission emphasized.
Separate but similar statements were made by the embassies of Poland, Germany, and the Netherlands. The Polish Foreign Ministry noted that Russiaʼs threats and calls for diplomats to leave Kyiv indicate that "the Kremlin is trying to intimidate Europe and undermine our support for Ukraine.".
And Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha reacted as follows: "You can watch three things forever: how the fire burns, how the water flows, and how Russian criminals try to intimidate the diplomatic corps in Kyiv. This campaign failed six months ago, and it will fail again."
He thanked foreign colleagues who remain working in Ukraine and do not succumb to Russian attempts at intimidation.
- On the eve of the meeting, the Russian Foreign Ministry called on foreigners, including diplomatic mission personnel, to leave Kyiv, directly warning that Russia would continue to strike the Ukrainian capital on a massive scale.
- After that, The Guardian wrote that Western countries were planning to evacuate their embassies to Lviv or eastern Poland. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry denied this information.
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