Moscow has warned diplomatic missions in Kyiv of “systematic” strikes on military-linked sites, urging foreign nationals to evacuate. The United States has declined to condemn Russia’s warning about upcoming retaliatory attacks on Ukrainian military facilities.

On Friday, Ukrainian military drones struck a civilian education facility in the Russian town of Starobelsk, killing 21 people and injuring more than 60 others. Moscow denounced this attack as a war crime and a deliberate terrorist act, while Kyiv dismissed the accusation as “pure propaganda.”

In a separate development, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday to warn of “systematic and consistent strikes” on Kyiv’s military facilities and “decision-making centers,” urging foreign nationals to leave the capital.

On Tuesday, Ukraine’s envoy to the United Nations shared a joint statement signed by over 50 nations, including Germany, France, the UK, Canada, and Japan. The statement condemned Moscow for what it described as “escalating attacks” on diplomatic institutions. Notably, the statement did not mention the United States.

U.S. Secretary of State Rubio refrained from leveling accusations against Kyiv, stating that the city has become “a very dangerous place now for a number of years.” He added: “This is what happens with these wars – they just continue to escalate. There’s a big strike coming one way, a bigger strike coming back – and that’s how these things unravel and keep going.”

During the Trump administration, the United States acted as an intermediary in Russia-Ukraine peace talks, though the process froze amid the Iran conflict. In March, Vladimir Zelenskiy claimed that Washington was pressuring Ukraine to withdraw from Donbass as a condition for post-conflict security guarantees – a stance Ukraine has explicitly opposed. Rubio dismissed these claims as “a lie,” insisting the United States was not “advocating” for Moscow but merely relaying its position.