Russia has advised foreigners to evacuate the Ukrainian capital and warned that it intends to begin a "series of systematic strikes" on defense industrial installations in Kyiv.
The strikes reportedly are in retaliation for a Ukrainian drone attack that killed at least 18 people last week in a student hostel in Starobilsk, in the seized Luhansk area, according to a statement from the Russian Ministry of Defense.
In recent months, Ukraine has improved its drone warfare capabilities and has had notable success in attacking Russian targets, particularly energy facilities. Moscow has labelled the strikes as "terrorism" and retaliated with massive missile and drone launches.
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Russia launched a full-scale invasion of its neighbour four years ago and claims four of Ukraine's eastern provinces as its own. The attack on Starobilsk was "the last straw," according to a statement released by the Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday.
In retaliation, Russia will initiate a methodical sequence of strikes that will target "specific sites where UAVs are designed, manufactured, programmed, and prepared for use."
The message warned "foreign citizens, including personnel of diplomatic missions and international organizations, to leave the city as soon as possible," pointing out that these institutions "are scattered throughout Kyiv."
Additionally, it advised citizens of Kyiv to stay away from military and administrative infrastructure installations, according to the statement.
It was called a "flagrant disregard for international humanitarian law" and "yet another blatant demonstration of the Nazi and terrorist nature of the Kyiv regime, which deliberately attacks civilians and does not hesitate to murder children in cold blood," according to a statement from the Foreign Ministry.
The Ukrainian military claims to have attacked an elite drone command unit and has denied any involvement in the attack on the hostel.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged friends to resist "Russian blackmail" in response to Moscow's ultimatum and demand that foreigners leave Kyiv.
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On Monday, almost 70 foreign diplomats visited a severely damaged neighborhood in Kyiv to pay their condolences to the victims of the strikes.
Gael Veyssiere, the French ambassador, observed that regular people had gone back to work on Monday and were carrying on with their normal lives.
Veyssiere told Reuters, "It's a way to demonstrate resilience, and I think it's extremely important that we, around the world, would support that."
But the threat is not likely to be inactive. Since the Starobilsk strike, Russia has launched many missile and drone attacks against Kyiv and the surrounding areas.
According to Ukrainian authorities, nocturnal strikes on the capital and surrounding area resulted in at least four fatalities and over sixty injuries.
The use of an Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile was acknowledged by Russia on Sunday. In Moscow's four-year conflict, the nuclear-capable weapon has been utilised three times.
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Several people were murdered in strikes in the eastern Kharkiv and Donetsk areas, according to Ukrainian officials on Monday.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the president of Ukraine, stated earlier this month that attacks against Russia's military production facilities and oil industry are "entirely justified" in response to a Russian airstrike that destroyed an apartment building in Kyiv and killed at least 24 people.
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