The Kremlin announces that attacks will be directed at locations in Kyiv where drones are developed and produced, as well as at Ukrainian command centers.
Kyiv residents are warned not to be near either military or civilian government buildings.
"Due to the fact that the above-mentioned objects are scattered across Kyiv, we warn foreign citizens, including personnel of diplomatic missions and international organizations, of the need to leave the city as soon as possible," the Russian Foreign Ministry wrote in a statement on Monday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov also conveyed the message in a telephone conversation with US Senator Marco Rubio, according to the Russian Foreign Ministry.
"Extortion"
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha says at a press conference that there is no reason to give in to "Russian blackmail."
The EU ambassador to Ukraine, Katarína Mathernová, calls the Russian statement a “masterpiece of hypocrisy” and emphasizes that European diplomats will not leave.
"Threats against diplomats and international organizations are not a sign of strength. They are a sign of desperation," she writes on social media.
Alleged revenge
Russia says the attacks are retaliation for an alleged Ukrainian attack in the occupied Luhansk region on Friday night. Russia accuses Ukraine of targeting civilians in a student dormitory, a charge Ukraine has denied.
On Sunday night, Russia launched a massive attack on Ukraine with a large number of missiles and drones, most of them targeting the capital. Two people were killed and 92 injured in Kyiv, according to Ukrainian emergency services.
The extensive attack used the Oreshnik hypersonic ballistic missile, a weapon that Russia says can be equipped with nuclear weapons.
