Russia to Resume Strikes on Kyiv After Warning U.S. to Withdraw Diplomats

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday to evacuate American diplomats and citizens from Kyiv before planned strikes on military facilities and decision-making centers in the Ukrainian capital. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov conveyed the warning during a phone call requested by Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to a statement from Russia's foreign ministry.

The ministry said the strikes would target drone manufacturing sites and command posts scattered across the city.

The warning came days after Russia launched one of its largest attacks on Kyiv since the start of the war. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the strikes killed four people and injured about 100 others. Russia said the barrage was retaliation for a Ukrainian drone strike on a vocational school in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region that killed 21 people.

Ukraine's military said its forces hit a Russian drone unit headquarters and denied targeting civilians. Russia used dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles, hundreds of drones, and an Oreshnik hypersonic missile during the weekend attack. Non-military sites including the Chernobyl Museum and the National Art Museum of Ukraine were damaged.

Western diplomatic missions rejected the evacuation warning.

Ukraine's foreign minister Andriy Sybiga called the Russian statements "shameless blackmail" and urged allies not to yield to the pressure. U.S. State Department spokesperson, May 26, 2026 (CNBC) Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022. Kyiv has faced repeated Russian strikes since then, including a large attack earlier this month that killed 24 people.