EU delegation stays in Kyiv after Russian threats of new massive strikes
Russia's Foreign Ministry urged foreigners, including diplomats, to leave Kyiv and threatened new massive strikes on the Ukrainian capital, framing them as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian military facilities. The European Commission rejected the warning, saying the EU delegation continues to work in Kyiv unchanged and that the threats are an attempt to intimidate Europe into reducing its support for Ukraine. EU Ambassador Kateryna Maternova confirmed on October 4 that the delegation remains in place despite the Russian warnings.
Key points
- Russia's Foreign Ministry called on foreigners and diplomatic personnel to leave Kyiv and warned of new 'massive strikes' on the city, blaming Ukrainian attacks on Russian military facilities.
- The Russian statement said negative consequences for those who ignore the warning are their own responsibility.
- EU Ambassador Kateryna Maternova said on October 4 that the EU Delegation remains in Kyiv despite the Russian threats.
- European Commission spokesman Christian Wiegand called the threats an attempt to intimidate Europe into reducing support for Ukraine.
- Wiegand said the EU delegation continues to operate in Kyiv without changes and that the EU will keep supporting Ukraine, exposing Russia's actions and increasing pressure on Moscow.
- Wiegand said the EU is working on its largest-ever sanctions package against Russia; new sanctions were imposed on September 28 over the deportation of Ukrainian children.
- Russia issued an analogous warning in May 2025; at that time, country leaders rejected the Russian threats.
- On October 3, President Volodymyr Zelensky told Reuters Ukraine's Armed Forces would intensify attacks on Russian oil refineries in response to Russian escalation.
- On October 2, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied media reports that unnamed Western embassies planned to evacuate staff to Lviv or eastern Poland.
- Western diplomats publicly say staying in Kyiv denies Moscow a propaganda victory; privately they are preparing contingency plans triggered by potential Russian strikes on diplomatic buildings, according to The Guardian.
Why it matters
The episode is a direct test of whether Western diplomatic presence in Kyiv will hold up under Russian threats of massive attacks, with the EU publicly framing the warning as an attempt to weaken European support for Ukraine. It also sits alongside reported Russian nuclear threats to NATO and an ongoing push for new EU sanctions, signalling an escalation in coercive signalling toward both Ukraine and its backers.
What happened
Russia's Foreign Ministry urged foreign citizens and diplomatic staff to leave Kyiv and announced that new 'massive strikes' would be carried out on the city, presenting them as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian military facilities. The statement added that responsibility for any negative consequences lay with those who ignored the warning. On October 4, EU Ambassador Kateryna Maternova said the mission was continuing to operate in Kyiv despite the Russian threats. European Commission spokesman Christian Wiegand called the threats an attempt to intimidate Europe into reducing its support for Ukraine, said the EU delegation in Kyiv was working unchanged, and added that the EU would keep supporting Ukraine, exposing Russia's actions and increasing pressure on Moscow, including through what he described as the largest sanctions package in EU history.
How Ukrainian sources describe it
The two supplied Ukrainian-language reports centre the EU's rebuttal of the Russian warning and the message that the EU delegation is staying in Kyiv. They also foreground Ukraine's own diplomatic pushback: the Foreign Ministry's October 2 denial of reports that unnamed Western embassies planned to evacuate staff to Lviv or eastern Poland, and Zelensky's October 3 statement that Ukraine's Armed Forces would intensify strikes on Russian oil refineries.
Where reporting differs
The supplied facts spell the European Commission spokesman's surname inconsistently as both 'Wigand' and 'Wiegand'. They also frame the trigger for the EU response differently: some link it only to Russia's call for foreigners to leave Kyiv, while others connect it more broadly to a Russian document sent to NATO asserting possible use of Russia's full arsenal, including nuclear weapons, if the Alliance attempted to isolate the Kaliningrad region.
Background
Russia issued a similar warning in May 2025, which country leaders rejected at the time. The EU has recently condemned Russian nuclear threats directed at NATO member states and on September 28 imposed new sanctions over the deportation of Ukrainian children. The Russian statement framed the threatened strikes as retaliation for Ukrainian attacks on Russian military facilities; on October 3 Zelensky said Ukraine's Armed Forces would intensify attacks on Russian oil refineries in response to Russian escalation. On October 2, Ukraine's Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied media reports that unnamed Western embassies intended to evacuate staff to Lviv or to eastern Poland.