Russia warns foreign diplomats

Russia has announced that major attacks on the Ukrainian capital Kiev will continue, prompting Moscow to call on foreign diplomats to leave the city.

Russia made the call on Saturday (September 3) local time. Moscow had previously issued a similar warning in May, Anadolu reported.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Russian forces continue to carry out well-planned and targeted attacks on military installations in Kiev and other cities of Ukraine in response to the terrorist actions of the Ukrainian armed forces against the civilian population and infrastructure of our country.

The ministry expressed concern that its warnings had not been heeded; several foreign embassies in Kiev were still operating and foreign officials continued to visit Ukraine.

The statement said that the Russian armed forces will continue to carry out large-scale retaliatory strikes. The Russian Foreign Ministry once again calls on foreign citizens to refrain from staying in or traveling to Ukraine, including employees of diplomatic missions. The responsibility for any possible undesirable consequences lies solely with those who ignore this warning.

Moscow and Kiev have stepped up attacks on each other's energy infrastructure, ports and other facilities in recent months. Both sides have denied deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure, insisting that they are targeting military targets or facilities associated with military operations.