The US Embassy in Kyiv denied reports that it had evacuated the capital following Russian threats of new strikes.
The embassy’s statement followed comments by EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, who said at a briefing on Thursday that all embassies had remained in Kyiv “except one.”
“All European embassies stayed, America left,” Kallas said before a meeting of EU foreign ministers, referring to recent Russian warnings on Monday about further strikes on Kyiv and calls for foreign diplomats to leave the city.
The US embassy later issued a statement on X denying reports that it had evacuated staff.
“The U.S. Embassy is open. There are no changes to our operations and reports otherwise are false,” the embassy said.
The embassy added that the State Department regularly reviews security conditions and reiterated guidance advising US citizens not to travel to Ukraine.
Kyiv rejects claims
Ukraine’s foreign ministry also said reports of a US evacuation were incorrect.
“Information about the departure of the US Embassy is not true,” foreign ministry spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi told journalists.
Presidential adviser Dmytro Lytvyn said the remarks may have referred to a temporary relocation of some US personnel before a recent strike.
“Perhaps it referred to the circumstances before the strike on Sunday night. We heard that American diplomats temporarily left Kyiv at that time,” Lytvyn said.
“In any case, Ukraine is grateful to all embassies operating in Kyiv,” he added.
Russia warns of further strikes
The statements followed Russia’s announcement that it would carry out “systematic strikes” against decision-making centers and defense-related facilities in Kyiv.
Moscow said the strikes, in retaliation for an alleged Ukrainian strike on a dormitory in occupied Starobilsk, would target infrastructure involved in the production and use of drones; Kyiv denied it targeted the dormitory.
Russia also claimed it would target facilities involved in the design, production and deployment of drones allegedly used by Ukraine with “NATO assistance.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha dismissed the threats as “blackmail” and said they would not affect the work of foreign missions in Kyiv.
Following this, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov urged the US to evacuate embassy personnel during a phone call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, according to Russia’s foreign ministry.
Moscow’s warning also came after a major weekend barrage against Kyiv with 90 missiles and 600 drones.