Kathrine Frich
“The Americans withdrew,” Kallas told reporters.
When bombs fall on a capital city, keeping official channels open becomes a dangerous waiting game.
Sometimes, even top officials cannot agree on who is actually still inside the building.
A trail of confusion
Officials scrambled after Moscow threatened to bomb administrative buildings in the Ukrainian capital. A massive debate quickly erupted over the safety of American diplomats.
Kaja Kallas, the foreign policy chief for the European Union, sparked the controversy. She publicly announced that the United States had evacuated its staff entirely.
“All embassies, except one, remained in Ukraine. The Americans withdrew,” Kallas told reporters.
By Tuesday, she had dismissed the Kremlin’s aggressive warnings as a simple intimidation tactic. But her claim about the American departure quickly faced pushback.
Pushing back hard
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry immediately rejected the European assessment. Officials flatly denied the evacuation to RBC-Ukraine cited by Onet, stating simply, “It’s not true.”
To clear the air, the American embassy in Kyiv released its own update. Representatives confirmed the diplomatic mission remains completely open and is operating normally.
Yet, a top advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky offered a slightly different timeline of events.
Leaving before the storm
Dmytro Lytvyn suggested that American staff did briefly leave the city. He linked their exit to a massive barrage of drones and missiles that hit Ukraine on the night of May 24.
“We heard that American diplomats left Kyiv at that time,” Lytvyn stated.
Despite the mix-up over exact movements, the advisor stressed his appreciation. “In any case, Ukraine is grateful to all embassies operating in Kyiv,” he added.
Ignoring the warnings
The whole dispute started when the Russian Foreign Ministry urged foreigners to flee Kyiv as soon as possible. Moscow promised to strike major decision-making centers.
European officials quickly shut down the threat. Katarína Mathernová, the EU Ambassador to Ukraine, confirmed her team has absolutely no plans to pack their bags.
She labeled the Russian warning “a masterpiece of hypocrisy” and described it as “a sign of desperation.”
For now, the international community seems determined to keep its doors open in the embattled capital.
Sources: Meduza, RBC-Ukraine, onet
