US not removing diplomats from Kyiv amid Russian threats, Rubio says
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Washington does not currently plan to remove its diplomats from Kyiv as Russia continues attacks and warns foreign diplomats to leave, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on Oct. 5.
"Look, we have an embassy presence there, and we'll make the determination about whether it's safe for them to be there or not," Rubio said at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. "(I)f a threat arises that we feel needs to be addressed by a change in posture, we'll do so. We haven't done that up to this point there."
Days earlier, on Oct. 2, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry said that no foreign diplomatic missions have notified Kyiv of plans to relocate.
"If any diplomatic missions are planning to relocate, they inform us; that is the established procedure," Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Heorhii Tykhyi said.
Rubio also noted that Russia has issued the same warning to diplomats for months and that attacks against Kyiv are not a new threat to foreign missions.
"They've been warning diplomats to leave for months, and I don't think it's a surprise to anyone that Kyiv is under attack. I think that's well understood... we analyze every single day the safety of every diplomatic mission in the world," he said.
Russia has continued fatal attacks against Kyiv and cities across Ukraine as it continues to wage its war.
On the morning of Oct. 4, Russia also struck the roadway of Kyiv's Northern Bridge across the Dnipro River with a drone, injuring two people, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.
The strike was the fourth day in a row of Russian attacks on Kyiv that targeted key bridges, including the Southern Bridge.
Russia again targeted Kyiv late on Oct. 5, with drone debris falling into a residential area in the city's Pecherskyi district after air defenses shot it down, a reporter on the ground said.
