Kremlin says US has not answered its warning of 'systematic strikes' on Kyiv as European diplomats refuse to leave

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that the United States had yet to respond to Moscow's warning that Russian forces were beginning "systematic strikes" on military-linked facilities in Kyiv. "For us, the priority is the warning that was issued," Peskov told a briefing in Moscow, noting that Russia had registered European officials' statements that their diplomats would remain in the city.

He declined to spell out what "systematic" implied -- whether daily attacks or strikes at regular intervals -- offering only: "Systematicity is not the same as periodicity." The Russian Foreign Ministry had announced the planned wave of strikes on Monday and advised foreign nationals to leave Kyiv as soon as possible, and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov conveyed the same to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a phone call. It was the second consecutive day Moscow pressed the threat.

European diplomats largely dismissed it. "The EU is not going anywhere. We are staying in Kyiv," said Katarina Mathernova, the EU ambassador to Ukraine, calling the order to leave "a sign of weakness." The Russian ministry also urged Kyiv residents to avoid military and administrative sites. Moscow said a Ukrainian strike on a college building in the city of Starobilsk had "overflowed the cup of patience" and triggered the campaign.

Peskov said President Vladimir Putin would begin a two-day state visit to Kazakhstan on Wednesday for what he called "very important" talks with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in Astana, followed by a Eurasian Economic Union summit later in the week.