The European Union Ambassador to Ukraine, Katarina Maternova, made it clear to the Kremlin that Western diplomats will not leave Kyiv despite Russia's new threats to intensify terror against the Ukrainian capital.
Points of attention
- The EU stands in solidarity with Ukraine and reaffirms its commitment to staying in Kyiv despite escalating tensions and threats from Russia.
- Threats against diplomats and international organizations, according to Maternova, are not a display of strength but a signal of Putin's desperation in the face of failed goals.
Putin failed to intimidate Western diplomats
The ambassador did not hide her indignation after the Russian Foreign Ministry's appeal to foreign diplomats and citizens to leave Kyiv.
According to Katarina Maternova, this warning is actually a "masterpiece of hypocrisy."
Against this background, she recalled that it is Putin's regime that has been bombing residential buildings, museums, maternity hospitals, schools, and power plants for many years in a row.
The Kremlin has just now decided to cynically speak in the language of "international humanitarian law" and the "Geneva Conventions."
The same regime that launches missile and drone strikes on civilians every night is now warning others to stay away, the ambassador noted.
According to Maternova, Putin has not invented anything new in the war against Ukraine, so he is traditionally trying to intimidate at least someone with talkativeness.
The diplomat emphasized that this tactic has exhausted itself and no longer works.
The EU is not going anywhere. We are staying in Kyiv. We are staying with Ukraine. Threats against diplomats and international organizations are not a sign of strength. They are a sign of desperation.
Katarina Maternova
Madam Ambassador of the European Union to Ukraine
