Lithuania says its embassy in Kyiv will continue operating despite Russian threats of intensified strikes on the Ukrainian capital and calls for foreign nationals, including diplomats, to leave the city.
Lithuania’s foreign ministry said the embassy had the necessary protective measures in place for staff, along with contingency plans to respond to potential security threats.
The ministry also said Lithuania, together with the European External Action Service and other European Union member states, had “unanimously and categorically” rejected Russian threats directed at residents of Kyiv and foreign diplomats working there.
On Tuesday, Lithuania handed a formal diplomatic note to a representative of the Russian embassy in Vilnius, stating that it rejects Russia’s threats to use force against Ukraine and regards them as a violation of the United Nations Charter.
According to the ministry, Russian diplomats have also been, or will be, summoned by foreign ministries in other EU countries.
The ministry added that nearly 50 countries had already condemned the Kremlin’s threats in a joint statement at the United Nations.
Earlier, Russia’s foreign ministry urged foreign citizens to leave Kyiv and avoid military and government facilities, warning of what it described as planned “systematic strikes” on the Ukrainian capital.
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