Russia launched a barrage of missiles on Kyiv over the Pentecost weekend, killing four and causing extensive damage across the Ukrainian capital.
Among the weapons Russia used was its Oreshnik hypersonic missile, which can travel ten times the speed of sound and is capable of carrying nuclear warheads, Moscow said.
The Kremlin claims the strikes were in retaliation, ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, after accusations that Ukraine hit a vocational school in the Russian-occupied Lugansk region, killing 21 people.
The Russian foreign ministry said “Under the current circumstances, the Russian Armed Forces are starting to launch systematic strikes against Ukrainian military-industrial facilities in Kyiv.” The statement also warned “foreign citizens, including personnel of diplomatic missions and international organisations, to leave the city as soon as possible.”
Russia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs spoke with his U.S. counterpart Marco Rubio on the phone on Monday, urging him to evacuate U.S. On Tuesday, Rubio told reporters Russia had “sent a notice to all the embassies,” not just the U.S. mission.
Rubio also said on Tuesday that Washington is still ready to mediate in the war.
“Every time you see these big strikes from one side or the other, it’s a reminder of why this is a terrible war that’s now gone on longer than the Second World War, and it needs to come to an end,” Rubio told reporters during an official visit to India.
“The U.S. stands ready and prepared to help do whatever we can to help facilitate the end of this war, and hopefully the opportunity will present itself at some point,” Rubio said.
