Russia warns foreign diplomats to leave Kyiv

Russia on Saturday warned foreign diplomats and nationals to leave Kyiv and said it would continue targeted strikes on the Ukrainian capital, hours after a Russian attack damaged the Northern Bridge. Ukrainian authorities reported six deaths across the country.

The Russian foreign ministry said Moscow was responding to what it called Ukrainian attacks on Russian civilians and infrastructure. “In response to the Ukrainian Armed Forces' terrorist acts against the civilian population and civilian infrastructure of our country, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are continuing to systematically carry out targeted strikes on military facilities in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities,” it said.

The ministry again urged foreign nationals, including diplomatic staff, against staying in or travelling to Ukraine. “We note with concern that not everyone has heeded these warnings, and that individuals are knowingly exposing themselves to mortal danger,” it said, according to AFP. Additionally, the ministry informed that, “responsibility for any potential negative consequences rests entirely with those who ignore this warning.”

The warning came as an attack on Kyiv’s Northern Bridge damaged the road surface and trolleybus cables and disrupted traffic, according to Kyiv mayor Vitalii Klitschko Vitalii Klitschko. Two people were wounded, he said, with one briefly hospitalised. Russia’s defence ministry confirmed it carried out the strike, saying the bridge was used to “facilitate troop movements and the logistics of military cargo deliveries” for Ukraine’s armed forces.

The latest warning comes as Kyiv faces repeated aerial attacks, with air raid alerts disrupting daily life in the city of about three million people. Russia had issued a similar warning in May. On Friday, Klitschko said Kyiv was in a “very dramatic situation” and should be on a war footing as the enemy was “tearing Kyiv apart” with strikes on bridges and energy infrastructure.

Elsewhere, Russian attacks on Kharkiv and nearby areas killed five people and wounded more than 40, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov. Russian drone strikes in Izyum wounded three people, local authorities said. In Odesa, a sailor was killed and three others wounded after Russian forces struck a civilian cargo ship, the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority said.

Moldovan president Maia Sandu said the conflict was “dangerously reaching” her country after what she said were Russian airspace incursions. “I condemn Russia’s attack on Ukraine this morning. Its war is dangerously reaching Moldova,” Sandu said. Both Russia and Ukraine deny deliberately targeting civilians. The latest strikes come as diplomatic efforts to end the war remain stalled.