MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Saturday it would continue to carry out targeted retaliatory strikes on Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities and urged foreign nationals and diplomats to leave the capital.
In a statement, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that “in response to the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ terrorist acts against the civilian population and civilian infrastructure of our country, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are continuing to systematically carry out targeted strikes on military facilities in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities”.
“The Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs once again warns foreign nationals, including diplomatic mission staff, against staying in Ukraine or travelling to its territory.
“Responsibility for any adverse consequences lies entirely with those who ignore this warning,” the ministry said.
Russia has recently escalated strikes on infrastructure in the Ukrainian capital, hitting a bridge across the Dnipro river in an air attack on Saturday. The intensifying campaign has upended life for the capital’s 3 million residents ahead of the bitter winter months.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said this week that Ukraine was paying the price for its own attacks on Russia and would continue to do so as Moscow’s forces systematically strike different targets there.
Both Russia and Ukraine have stepped up attacks on the other side’s grain vessels in the Black Sea in recent months, while Russian oil refineries and other enterprises continue to come under Ukrainian shelling and Ukrainian drones kill civilians in Russian border regions.
Both sides deny targeting civilians or civilian infrastructure.
On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin attended military drills in the Ural Mountains involving troops from China and several other countries.
Putin visited a firing range in the Chelyabinsk region to observe the final stage of the Center-2026 maneuvers. The exercises were combined with the Interaction-2026 drills held by members of the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Moscow-dominated security alliance of several former Soviet nations.
Putin said Center-2026 involved 47,000 troops training to repel an attack at 11 firing ranges and in the Caspian Sea. The drills began Monday and will run through Saturday.
About 6,000 troops from Russia and other countries took part in the final phase at Chebarkulsky, Putin said. Delegations from 55 nations attended as observers, he added.
The drills included military contingents from Belarus, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, as well as troops from China, Mongolia and Pakistan, according to Russian news reports.