On 25 May, Russia warned foreign diplomats to leave Kyiv ahead of "systemic strikes," its Foreign Ministry said on Telegram. Moscow made the announcement a day after the largest strike of the war on the Ukrainian capital, in which it used an Oreshnik intermediate ballistic missile, killing four people.
Russia issues warning to diplomatic missions
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced consistent strikes on Ukrainian military-industrial facilities in Kyiv, including design, production, programming, and drone-deployment-preparation sites, and called on foreign nationals, including diplomatic missions and international organizations, to leave the city as quickly as possible.
Russia framed the announcement as retaliation for what it called a Ukrainian "bloody attack" on a college training corps and dormitory in occupied Starobilsk on 22 May.
The Ukrainian General Staff said the Starobilsk-area strike hit one of the headquarters of Russia's "Rubicon" Center for Advanced Unmanned Technologies, not the dormitory.
Ukraine strikes “Rubicon” elite Russian drone unit in occupied Luhansk Oblast — while Moscow accuses Kyiv of hitting civilians
Russia announced systematic terror
The Russian Foreign Ministry said Russian armed forces would systematically strike Ukrainian military-industrial complex facilities, "including specific locations of design, production, programming, and preparation for application of UAVs used by the Kyiv 'regime' with the assistance of NATO specialists responsible for the supply of components, the provision of intelligence data, and target designation."
Strikes will also hit decision-making centers and command posts, the ministry said.
The objects are "scattered across all of Kyiv," the ministry added, advising the capital's residents not to approach military or administrative infrastructure.
More than 11,000 Russian FPV drone attacks hit civilians since 2024
The Russian Foreign Ministry framed the announced strike series in the language of Geneva Conventions violations, accusing Ukrainian authorities and "Western sponsors" of violating the Conventions and the Convention on Rights of Children.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Office of the Prosecutor General has documented more than 11,000 Russian FPV-drone attacks on Ukrainian civilians since 2024, including the systematic "human safari" pattern in Kherson and ongoing strikes on emergency responders that the Prosecutor General classifies as war crimes.
