Russia’s Foreign Ministry renewed its call for foreign embassies in Kyiv to evacuate after a passenger train was attacked on Sunday about 2 kilometers from the Polish border. Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Tuesday that the warning issued this spring remained valid.
Responding to a question about the attack, Zakharova said the targeted railway line had been used just minutes earlier by another train carrying diplomats who had arrived from Europe. Former British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and former Swedish Prime Minister Carl Bildt were also on that train.
Zakharova argued that Western politicians and diplomats had openly ignored their own governments’ warnings against traveling to Ukraine. She said Western “political tourists” seeking safe passage to Ukraine needed to assess the risks realistically.
Zakharova also accused Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of using Western visitors as “human shields.”
Russia’s Defense Ministry said Sunday’s attacks targeted infrastructure used to transport military cargo from Europe to Ukraine. Zakharova likewise argued that Ukrainian railway stations and transport infrastructure used for military purposes were legitimate targets.
Various border crossings between Ukraine and Poland are used to deliver a significant share of military and humanitarian aid from Western allies.