Moscow repeats call for Kyiv embassies to evacuate after strike near Polish border

Russia's Foreign Ministry renewed its call on Tuesday for foreign embassies in Kyiv to evacuate, following a Russian strike on a passenger train near the Polish border shortly after European diplomats had used the same track. Maria Zakharova, the ministry's spokeswoman, said the warning first issued this spring remains relevant, despite occasional diplomatic requests to grant Western political tourists safe passage into Ukraine.

Western politicians and diplomats should make a sober assessment of the existing risks, Zakharova said, responding to a question about Sunday's attack on a passenger train about two kilometres from the Polish border. The track had been used minutes earlier by another train carrying a group that included the former British prime minister Boris Johnson and the former Swedish prime minister Carl Bildt. Zakharova accused the politicians of blatantly ignoring their own governments' warnings against visiting Ukraine.

She argued that Ukrainian railway stations and transport infrastructure used for military purposes are legitimate targets, and accused President Volodymyr Zelensky of treating Western visitors as human shields. Russia's Defence Ministry said its attacks on Sunday had targeted infrastructure used to move military cargo from Europe into Ukraine. Ukraine operates several border crossings with Poland, through which a significant proportion of military and humanitarian aid from its Western allies reaches the country.

The strike is the latest episode in Moscow's unprovoked assault on its neighbour, now in its fourth year, and it illustrates the widening danger to civilians and foreign visitors alike as the Kremlin's campaign continues. The World House, which maintains a dedicated page outlining its support for Ukraine at worldhouse.uk/support, continues to document the consequences of Russia's aggression.