Foreign missions stay in Kyiv as Russia renews strike warning

Foreign diplomatic missions remained in Kyiv on Oct. 2 despite intensified Russian bombardment and a renewed warning from Moscow for diplomats and other foreign nationals to leave the Ukrainian capital, according to reports from Ukraine and Russia. Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry said that evening that no mission had notified it of plans to relocate.¹²³

No relocation notices

Heorhii Tykhyi, a spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, said diplomatic missions were required to inform the ministry if they intended to move. As of the evening of Oct. 2, the ministry had received no such request or notification, he said. The assertion has not been independently corroborated in the dossier.¹

Questions about the missions’ plans followed a report citing an unnamed senior diplomat who described conditions in Kyiv as worsening rapidly. According to The Kyiv Independent’s account of those comments, contingency arrangements were being prepared for a possible move to Lviv or eastern Poland. The report said missions intended to remain in Kyiv unless Russia deliberately began targeting foreign diplomatic facilities.¹

Moscow warns of further attacks

Russia’s Foreign Ministry issued a new call on Oct. 3 for diplomats and other foreign nationals to leave Kyiv because of the threat of large-scale strikes, The Straits Times reported. The ministry said some people had disregarded previous warnings and were exposing themselves to lethal danger. It added that those who ignored the notice would bear responsibility for any adverse consequences.²

The ministry said Russian forces would continue what it described as large-scale retaliatory attacks. TASS separately reported that the Russian military was conducting systematic strikes against military facilities in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. According to TASS, the ministry portrayed the attacks as a response to what it alleged were terrorist acts by Ukraine’s army against Russian civilians and infrastructure.²³

The Straits Times reported that Russia had intensified attacks on Kyiv in preceding weeks, striking bridges and energy facilities amid wider drone and missile barrages against Ukraine. Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said the capital should be placed on a war footing and described the attacks as “tearing Kyiv apart”.²

Diplomatic sites previously damaged

According to The Kyiv Independent, Russian strikes have repeatedly caused damage to embassy buildings and ambassadors’ homes in Kyiv since the start of the full-scale invasion. The outlet reported that a May 24 barrage involving missiles and drones damaged the Albanian ambassador’s home and put the diplomat at risk. Nearly 50 countries subsequently issued a joint statement on May 26 condemning Russian threats against embassies, according to the outlet.¹

It also reported that a Russian missile attack in December 2024 damaged diplomatic missions in Kyiv representing Albania, Argentina, Palestine, North Macedonia, Portugal and Montenegro. It also attributed severe damage at the EU mission and British Council in August 2025 to Russian air strikes, and said Azerbaijan’s embassy in Ukraine had sustained its third Russian attack earlier in 2026.¹

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of authorising extensive attacks on civilian areas and violating the rules governing armed conflict, The Straits Times reported. The Kremlin rejected that allegation. The competing accounts leave unresolved whether Russia’s threatened future strikes could directly affect diplomatic premises or prompt missions to activate their contingency plans.¹²