U.S. Embassy denies reports of evacuation from Kyiv amid Russian missile threats

The post stated that “there are no changes to [the Embassy’s] operations” and that any reports of changes to embassy activities are false.

“The State Department has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans and regularly reviews the security posture of Embassy Kyiv,” the post read.

The embassy reiterated its message that Americans should not travel to Ukraine for any reason due to Russia’s war of aggression.

EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on May 28 that the U.S. Embassy evacuated its diplomats from Kyiv amid Russian threats of renewed strikes on the city. She also emphasized that other European embassies remain in Ukraine.

Ukrainian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi later told reporters that reports of the U.S. Embassy leaving Kyiv were false.

Dmytro Lytvyn, the Ukrainian president’s communications adviser, suggested Kallas may have been referring to the departure of U.S. diplomats the night before Russia’s massive strike on Kyiv on May 24.

Russian forces launched the largest strike on Kyiv by number of sites hit since the start of the war on May 24, striking about 300 locations, including dozens of apartment buildings, museums, government offices, schools, shopping centers and the Lukyanivska metro station. 91 people were reported injured and two killed.

New Russian threats to strike Kyiv

Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on May 25 that Russian strikes on Kyiv “have been carried out in response and will continue to be carried out.”

Earlier that day, Russia’s Foreign Ministry said Russian forces were beginning “a series of systematic strikes” on military-industrial facilities in Kyiv and urged foreigners to leave the Ukrainian capital “as quickly as possible.”

The ministry cynically threatened to strike sites linked to the design, production and use of drones, as well as “decision-making centers and command posts” in Kyiv.

It also repeated a false claim that Ukraine had attacked a university in Starobilsk, saying the alleged strike had “overflowed the cup of patience” and provoked Russian attacks on Kyiv. The Kremlin cynically accused Ukraine of violating the Geneva Conventions, without mentioning its daily attacks on Ukrainian cities and communities that have resulted in countless civilian casualties.