Embassies not planning to evacuate Kyiv amid Russia's bombardment, Foreign Ministry confirms

Ukraine has received no notifications from any foreign diplomatic missions regarding intent to relocate from Kyiv, Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said on Oct. 2.

Tykhyi's comments came after comments from an unnamed diplomat reported by the Guardian sparked concerns that embassies were planning to evacuate from Kyiv due to escalating Russian attacks.

"If any diplomatic missions are planning to relocate, they inform us; that is the established procedure," Tykhyi told journalists, adding that no such requests had been received by the Foreign Ministry as of the evening of Oct. 2.

A senior diplomat reportedly told the Guardian that the situation in Kyiv was "obviously deteriorating fast" and that contingency plans were being developed to possibly move embassies to Lviv or eastern Poland. However, these measures would only take effect if Russia began deliberately targeting foreign diplomatic missions.

Otherwise, even as Russia attacks Kyiv's schools, homes, bridges, and energy facilities, embassies intend to stay.

"As of now, the Foreign Ministry has not received any such requests or notifications from foreign diplomatic missions regarding plans to relocate," Tykhyi reiterated.

Russia has previously tried to pressure embassies to evacuate their personnel, leveling direct threats at foreign missions in an effort to persuade them to abandon Kyiv. In May, the Russian Foreign Ministry issued a public warning about a new wave of long-range attacks on Kyiv, urging foreign citizens, including diplomats, to leave the city.

Despite the Kremlin's attempts at intimidation, diplomats maintained their presence in Kyiv. At a United Nations meeting in New York on May 26, nearly 50 countries issued a joint statement condemning Russia's threats against embassies.

Russian strikes have damaged foreign embassies and ambassadors' residences in Kyiv several times since the beginning of the full-scale invasion.

A massive combined missile and drone attack on May 24 damaged the Albanian ambassador's residence, threatening the diplomat's life. Earlier that year, Azerbaijan sustained its third Russian attack on its embassy in Ukraine.

The EU mission and British Council were severely damaged by Russian air strikes in August 2025. The embassies of Albania, Argentina, Palestine, North Macedonia, Portugal, and Montenegro were all damaged in a December 2024 Russian missile strike in Kyiv.