EU summons Russian envoy over Kyiv evacuation threat

The European Union summoned Russia's top diplomat in Brussels on Tuesday after Moscow warned foreign citizens and diplomats to evacuate Kyiv and threatened fresh military strikes on the Ukrainian capital, The Korea Times reported.

The diplomatic confrontation signals a sharp escalation in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with European officials drawing a firm line against Russian threats targeting foreign nationals and civilian infrastructure in Kyiv.

EU spokeswoman Anitta Hipper condemned the warnings as a deliberate provocation and called on Russia to stop targeting civilians, according to The Korea Times. "Russia's threat to foreign citizens and diplomats to leave Kyiv is an unacceptable escalation," Hipper said in a statement posted online.

Russia had issued warnings demanding that foreign nationals and diplomatic personnel leave Kyiv ahead of what Moscow indicated would be new military strikes on the Ukrainian capital. The warnings prompted Brussels to summon the Russian envoy for a formal face-to-face rebuke.

The Korea Times reported that the EU conveyed a direct message to the Russian diplomat: Moscow must halt attacks on civilian areas. The bloc characterized Russia's military threats as a violation of international norms protecting foreign nationals and accredited diplomats.

EU officials did not publicly detail further steps following the summoning, but the formal diplomatic action underscored the bloc's position that Russian threats against Kyiv — and the foreign nationals and mission staff within the city — would not pass without consequence.

EU officials said the bloc's message to Moscow was unambiguous: Russia must stop attacking civilians in Ukraine. The Korea Times reported no immediate response from Russian authorities following Tuesday's summoning.