Germany and EU summon Russian envoys over threat to 'systematically' strike Kyiv; Berlin says its embassy will stay
Germany, the EU, Norway and the Netherlands summoned Russia's top diplomats on Tuesday to protest Moscow's threat of systematic strikes on Kyiv and its call for foreign diplomats to leave. Germany's Foreign Ministry said it 'will not be intimidated' and confirmed its embassy would keep operating, while UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was 'deeply concerned.' Ukraine read a joint statement from 50 countries condemning the threats.
Germany summoned Russia's ambassador on Tuesday in what amounted to a coordinated European response, joined by the EU, Norway and the Netherlands, after Moscow threatened "systematic" strikes on Kyiv and urged foreign diplomats to leave the city. Germany's Foreign Ministry said it had made clear "that we will not be intimidated by threats and will continue to support Ukraine wholeheartedly," listing hospitals, schools and TV studios among the sites struck over the weekend. "Russia is doubling down on terror, threats and escalation," the ministry said.
The German embassy said it would keep working: "We are not withdrawing personnel or making any other changes to our staffing. The German Embassy is here in Kyiv -- on Ukraine's side." In Brussels, Anitta Hipper, spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, said she had summoned Russia's charge d'affaires, calling the threat "an unacceptable escalation" and demanding Moscow "stop hitting civilians and engage in genuine peace talks." EU ambassador to Ukraine Katarina Mathernova said the bloc's delegation would not leave.
At a UN General Assembly session in New York on the world's proliferating conflicts, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was "deeply concerned by the recent announcement by the Russian Federation to launch consistent and systemic strikes against Ukrainian defense enterprises in Kyiv, as well as against decision-making centers and command posts," warning that the world faced the largest number of simultaneous conflicts since the UN's founding. Ukraine's ambassador, Andriy Melnyk, read a joint statement from 50 countries -- including European and NATO states, Japan and South Korea -- condemning the attacks and the threats against diplomats.
The protests followed a weekend bombardment in which Moscow fired more than 80 missiles at Kyiv, injuring 87 people, according to Ukrainian officials. Russia said it was responding to a Ukrainian strike on Starobilsk, where it said a student dormitory was hit, killing 21 people aged 18 to 21; Ukraine's military denied this, saying it had struck a Russian military target. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha called Moscow's warning "shameless blackmail."
The escalation framed a wider show of European solidarity. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, appearing with the three Baltic presidents in Vilnius, warned that Russia was pursuing "a deliberate strategy ... to destabilise our democratic societies," adding: "when Baltic states are being tested, Europe as a whole is being tested." Separately, NATO agreed to assign the German-Netherlands Corps to the defence of Latvia and Estonia, part of a plan to speed reinforcement of the alliance's eastern flank.