EU and member states summon Russian envoys after Moscow tells foreigners to leave Kyiv
Diplomatic Tensions Rise Over Russian Threats in Kyiv
BRUSSELS, May 26 (Reuters) - Germany, Norway, the Netherlands, Poland and the European Union summoned Russian representatives on Tuesday after Russia threatened strikes on targets in Ukraine's capital Kyiv and urged foreigners, including diplomats, to leave.
Russia's Response to EU Complaints
Russia's embassy in Germany rejected the EU complaints, saying its aim was to conduct "surgical strikes" on military targets.
Moscow's Announced Military Actions
Moscow said on Monday that it intended to mount strikes on Ukrainian military targets and decision-making centres in Kyiv, one day after one of its heaviest bombardments of the city since the war began.
EU and Member States Summon Russian Representatives
EU's Diplomatic Actions
The European Union's diplomatic service summoned Russia's chargé d'affaires, the bloc's foreign policy spokesperson said on Tuesday.
EU's Stance on Russian Threats
Russia's "threat to foreign citizens & diplomats to leave Kyiv is an unacceptable escalation," spokesperson Anitta Hipper said in a post on X, calling for Moscow to "stop hitting civilians".
The EU's delegation is remaining in Kyiv, the spokesperson added.
Actions by Individual EU Member States
Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide said he had summoned Russia's ambassador Nikolai Korchunov to address "the explicit threats against foreign personnel in Ukraine."
Sweden on Monday evening summoned the Russian ambassador to "condemn Russia's false claims of airspace violations in the Nordic-Baltic region and Russia's threats against Latvia and other countries in the region."
Poland also summoned Russia's envoy, demanding Russia would immediately halt its "unlawful" aggression against Ukraine, a spokesman for the ministry of foreign affairs said.
Russian Justifications and Ukrainian Response
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday that the impending strikes were in response to Kyiv's "continuing terrorist attacks."
Incident in Luhansk Region
Moscow has cited a drone strike last Friday on a student dorm in Ukraine's Russian-held Luhansk region in which 21 people died. Ukraine's military denied the Russian accusations and said it had struck an elite drone command unit in the area.
(Reporting by Lili Bayer, Louise Rasmussen, Marek Strzelecki and Linda Pasquini; Writing by Makini Brice; Editing by Sharon Singleton, Ron Popeski and Deepa Babington)
