Putin’s ‘warning’ to Trump about Americans in Ukraine as Russia threatens strikes
Trump was reportedly warned, via a Lavrov-to-Rubio call, that Putin wants Americans moved out of Ukraine ahead of a “systematic” blitz on Kyiv targeting “decision-making centers”
Russia’s President Vladimir Putin talks on the phone(Image: POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump was reportedly warned by Russia’s leader Vladimir Putin to get Americans out of Ukraine – as he threatens a “systematic” blitz on Kyiv. The warning was reportedly delivered via a high-level diplomatic channels.
Moreover, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov reportedly requested a call with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and used it to urge Washington to ensure the evacuation of its diplomatic personnel before any bombardment begins.
The urgent message, delivered on Monday (May 25), identified Kyiv as the intended target, with Russian officials reportedly urging residents to steer clear of government buildings, military sites and alleged drone-production facilities.
The Kremlin issued a statement setting out the nature of the threatened action, warning that any strikes would “target decision-making centres and command posts”. It also urged foreign nationals and international staff to leave the capital, saying: “We are notifying foreign citizens, including the personnel of diplomatic missions and international organisations of the need to leave the city as soon as possible”.
Rubio confirmed to reporters that he relayed Putin’s message via Lavrov directly to Trump regarding, which he characterised as having a persistent “threat of escalation”, the Kyiv Independent reported. Russia reportedly said the planned strikes were in response to a Ukrainian strike in Russian-occupied Luhansk Oblast.
It was the first publicly reported contact between the two men since May 5, when they were said to have spoken about US-led peace efforts. Rubio consequently told reporters: “I spoke to him yesterday about that and a couple other topics, and obviously Putin had asked him to call me to relay the message directly to the President, which I did.
“Kyiv has been a dangerous place for a number of years. The danger in all these wars, as they continue and go on, is that they always carry the threat of escalation… of spreading into something new.”
The Kremlin alleged a dormitory in Starobilsk was hit, while Ukraine insisted it had struck a Russian drone command facility. Nevertheless, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha urged Kyiv’s allies not to give in to what he described as “Russian blackmail”, the Daily Mail reported.
The European Union’s ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Mathernova, said the bloc would not move its presence out of the capital and insisted it would remain alongside Ukraine. She said: “Russia wants fear, panic, isolation of Ukraine.
“It will not work. The EU is not going anywhere. We are staying in Kyiv. We are staying with Ukraine.”
France also signalled it would not comply with any evacuation call. A spokesperson for the French foreign ministry said: “We’re used to Putin’s threats.
“It is out of the question to evacuate.” The US personnel is currently staying, electing not to launch a full diplomatic evacuation of Kyiv, ABC News reported.
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