The United States has dismissed claims that it evacuated its diplomats from Kyiv amid rising tensions and renewed Russian threats against the Ukrainian capital.
Washington reaffirmed on Thursday that its embassy operations in Kyiv remain active despite warnings from Moscow about further large-scale attacks.
The clarification followed remarks by the European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, who suggested the US had withdrawn diplomatic staff from the city while European embassies stayed.
“What we heard from Ukraine yesterday was that all the embassies stayed, except one, so that also takes courage from those embassies, but yes, all the Europeans stayed, America left,” Kallas told reporters before a meeting of foreign ministers in Cyprus.
The US Embassy in Kyiv quickly rejected the claim, insisting there had been no evacuation.
“There are no changes to our operations and reports otherwise are false,” the embassy said in a statement posted on X.
Ukrainian officials also denied reports that American diplomats had left the capital.
Kallas’ comments were later corrected in the official transcript, with a note explaining that the statement had been updated regarding diplomatic presence in Kyiv. Her spokesperson, Anitta Hipper, described the incident as “a misunderstanding.”
The renewed diplomatic tensions come as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy sent an unusual joint appeal to President Donald Trump and the US Congress, urging Washington to provide more air defence systems and missile supplies.
“It is quite rare for the leader of another state to address both the President and Congress of the United States simultaneously with a letter,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly address. “But the situation now requires action, swift and effective action. It is important that America hear Ukraine.”
According to reports, Zelenskyy requested additional Patriot PAC-3 missiles and other American-made defence systems, warning that Ukraine’s supplies are running low as the conflict in Iran affects US military stockpiles.
Ukraine has recently intensified drone attacks on Russian oil and industrial targets, while Russia has responded with heavier aerial assaults. Last weekend, Moscow reportedly launched nearly 90 missiles and hundreds of drones toward Kyiv in one of the largest attacks since the war began in 2022.
In the letter obtained by the Associated Press, Zelenskyy said Ukraine has improved its drone interception capabilities to above 90 per cent and has even assisted countries in the Gulf region and US military bases in strengthening air defences.
However, he stressed that Ukraine still depends heavily on the US for anti-missile systems.
“For us — for a nation fighting for its survival — there is hardly anything more painful to see than Patriot batteries with no missiles loaded,” Zelenskyy wrote.
He added that current deliveries are “no longer keeping up with the reality of the threat we face.”
“The sooner we are able to provide greater protection against ballistic threats, the sooner we will be able to make diplomacy work,” Zelenskyy added. “As long as Russia continues to rely on missiles, its interest in diplomacy is not real.”
Meanwhile, the head of Britain’s intelligence agency GCHQ, Anne Keast-Butler, claimed Russia continues to suffer heavy losses on the battlefield.
“Putin is going backwards on the battlefield,” she said, adding that new data suggests “almost half a million Russian soldiers have now been killed since the conflict began.”
