Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has called US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to advise the evacuation of American citizens and diplomatic personnel from Kyiv, as Moscow signals plans to intensify its military strikes on the Ukrainian capital, according to a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday.
The statement said Lavrov made the call at the request of President Vladimir Putin, informing the US side that Russia is preparing what it described as “systematic and consistent strikes” against targets in Kyiv, including what Moscow referred to as “decision-making centers.” The warning marks a further escalation in rhetoric as the war in Ukraine continues with no clear path toward de-escalation.
Russia has carried out regular strikes on Ukrainian cities since the start of its full-scale invasion in 2022, with Kyiv frequently among the primary targets. However, Ukrainian authorities reported a particularly large-scale assault on Sunday involving a wave of drones and missiles, including the deployment of an Oreshnik ballistic missile system. Moscow framed the attack as retaliation for a recent Ukrainian drone strike on a college in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region, which it said killed 21 students.
Ukraine’s General Staff rejected Moscow’s account, stating that its forces had instead struck the headquarters of a Russian drone unit operating in Starobilsk. Ukrainian officials also denied Russian claims that civilian infrastructure had been targeted in the latest Ukrainian operations.
Following the latest escalation, Russian officials said the country would continue what they described as “systematic retaliatory strikes.” In a separate advisory issued earlier, the Kremlin urged foreign nationals, including diplomatic staff and international organization representatives, to leave Kyiv as soon as possible. It also advised residents of the Ukrainian capital to avoid areas near military and administrative facilities.
Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhiy Tykhyi said on Monday that Russian threats against Kyiv were not new, pointing to the sustained pattern of missile and drone attacks against the capital throughout the war. The US State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding Lavrov’s remarks.
During the call with Rubio, Lavrov also accused European governments and Ukraine of undermining agreements he said were previously reached between Putin and US President Donald Trump during a 2025 summit in Alaska. According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the two diplomats also discussed wider geopolitical tensions, including the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and developments related to Cuba.
Trump returned to the White House in January last year with a pledge to bring a swift end to the war in Ukraine, which is widely considered the most severe conflict in Europe since World War II. However, more than 16 months of diplomatic engagement have yet to produce a breakthrough or lasting agreement between the parties.
According to reporting cited by Bloomberg, US officials had previously considered proposing that Ukraine relinquish control of the Donbas region, including Donetsk and Luhansk, if Russia agreed to freeze the conflict along current front lines and abandon claims to Ukrainian-held territory in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions. All of these territories are internationally recognized as part of Ukraine’s sovereign state.
However, negotiations remain deeply stalled, and prospects for a deal appear increasingly remote. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has recently expressed skepticism about the likelihood of a near-term agreement.
“There doesn’t appear to be anybody else in the world right now that can handle it,” Rubio told reporters on May 22. “So we’re more than happy to do that if the opportunity presents itself to have constructive and productive talks. We’re also not interested in getting involved in an endless cycle of meetings that lead to nothing.”
The remarks underscore growing frustration within US diplomatic circles as efforts to broker a resolution continue to face entrenched disagreements over territory, security guarantees, and post-war political arrangements.
Meanwhile, Moscow’s latest warnings add further uncertainty to an already volatile security environment in Kyiv, where residents continue to face repeated air raid alerts and infrastructure disruptions amid ongoing long-range strikes.
