Paris has rejected a Russian Foreign Ministry call for foreign diplomatic missions to evacuate from Kyiv ahead of 9 May, with the French embassy continuing to operate as normal, Ukrinform reports. The European Commission and Germany have taken the same line.
France: embassy operations continue as usual
The statement came from Pascal Confavreux, spokesperson for France's Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, who said the French embassy in the Ukrainian capital "will continue to operate as usual."
"Regarding the call to evacuate from Kyiv and to evacuate foreign embassies, we condemn the irresponsible statements made by the Russian Foreign Ministry on the eve of 9 May. Moscow's threats, particularly regarding decision-making centers and foreign embassies in Ukraine, are unacceptable and contradict Russia's international obligations," Confavreux said, as cited by Ukrinform.
Paris also urged Moscow to abandon its aggressive rhetoric and to agree without delay with Ukraine on a genuine ceasefire.
EU and Germany take the same line
Speaking at a European Commission briefing, spokesperson Anouar El-Anouni said the EU would not adjust its diplomatic footprint in the Ukrainian capital.
"We will not change our position or presence in Kyiv. Russian attacks are unfortunately a daily reality both in Kyiv and in other parts of Ukraine," El-Anouni said.
He accused Moscow of "once again cynically trying to shift the blame onto Ukraine for its own aggression — Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine," and described the public threats to strike Kyiv as "part of reckless escalation tactics."
Germany has likewise stated it will not evacuate its diplomats from Kyiv.
The Western statements followed a 6 May briefing by Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, who said Moscow had sent a note to foreign diplomatic missions and international organizations urging "advance evacuation from Kyiv." Zakharova warned that "if Kyiv carries out criminal plans on the days of victory celebrations, the strike will be delivered, in particular, against decision-making centers."
The Russian Defense Ministry separately declared a unilateral ceasefire for 8–9 May and threatened Ukraine with "a massive missile strike on central Kyiv" if Kyiv did not observe the regime, DW reports.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Ukraine had received no official communication from Russia about the modalities of any ceasefire and announced a "silence regime" starting the night of 6 May. He pledged Kyiv would respond to Russian strikes symmetrically with what he called "long-range sanctions." Russia continued attacks on 6 May; from the start of 7 May, Zelenskyy said, Russia carried out around 100 drone strikes alongside dozens of airstrikes and frontline shelling. On the same day, he confirmed a Ukrainian strike on the Lukoil-Permnefteorgsintez oil refinery in Perm, more than 1,500 kilometers from the Ukrainian border.
"Russia has fought itself into a situation where its main parade now depends on us," Zelenskyy said in a 6 May video address.
Overnight on 8 May, explosions hit the Russian city of Yaroslavl on 8 May, setting fire to the Yaroslavnefteorgsintez oil refinery. Moscow and Rostov-on-Don came under attack the same night, with damage reported across four locations in Rostov Oblast and two airports temporarily closed in the Russian capital.
