Ukraine: EU, Germany summon Russian envoys after Moscow tells diplomats to leave Kyiv

What you need to know about Russian threats on Kyiv Russia has escalated attacks on the Ukrainian capital and urged foreign diplomats to leave Many members of the international community have condemned the attacks and reiterated support for Ukraine Leaders have warned that further strikes risk deepening the global security crisis The EU, Germany, several UN members and Secretary-General Antonio Guterres all rebuked Russia on Tuesday for Sunday's bombardment of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv and Mosc

Russia had first raised the prospect of widespread attacks on Kyiv earlier in May , amid the two sides' bickering over a possible ceasefire to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe in 1945. Both times it said it was responding to Ukrainian long-range drone strikes on Russian territory. Russia launches drone barrages, hypersonic missile at Kyiv To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What did Germany and the EU say as they summoned Russian diplomats? Germany's Foreign Ministry said online that it had summoned Russia's ambassador and made clear "that we will not be intimidated by threats and will continue to support Ukraine wholeheartedly." "Attacks on hospitals, schools and TV studios , calling on our embassy staff to leave Kyiv. Russia is doubling down on terror, threats and escalation," the ministry wrote. The spokeswoman for the EU's foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas said Russia's charge d'affaires was also called in in Brussels on Tuesday. "Russia's threat to foreign citizens and diplomats to leave Kyiv is an unacceptable escalation," Anitta Hipper wrote. " [The EU] summoned the Charge d'Affaires, calling to stop hitting civilians and to engage in genuine peace talks." She said the EU delegation would not be vacating its Kyiv offices. UN's Guterres 'deeply concerned' by Russian threat as global conflicts proliferate UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres also criticized Russia at the opening of a special General Assemby session in New York on proliferating global conflicts chaired by Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Guterres said that violence was expanding "in scale and complexity, in the Middle East, Sudan, Ukraine and beyond," as the world faced the largest number of simultaneous conflicts since the founding of the United Nations. "I must add that I am deeply concerned by the recent announcement by the Russian Federation to launch consistent and systemic strikes against Ukrainian defense enterprises in Kyiv, as well as against decision-making centers and command posts," Guterres said. He noted Russia's stated rationale for the attacks, the strikes on a college building and dormitory in the occupied Ukrainian city of Starobilsk in Luhansk region.

Key points

• Russia had first raised the prospect of widespread attacks on Kyiv earlier in May , amid the two sides' bickering over a possible ceasefire to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Eur…
• Both times it said it was responding to Ukrainian long-range drone strikes on Russian territory.
• Russia launches drone barrages, hypersonic missile at Kyiv To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video What did Germany and the EU…
• Germany's Foreign Ministry said online that it had summoned Russia's ambassador and made clear "that we will not be intimidated by threats and will continue to support Ukraine wholeheartedly." "Att…
• Russia is doubling down on terror, threats and escalation," the ministry wrote.