Russia warns of possible attack on Kyiv decision-makers, even with Western presence

The Russian military has warned it could strike Ukrainian “decision-making centers” in the Ukrainian capital and said wouldn’t be stopped by the possible presence of Western advisers there.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Tuesday accused the U.K. of making statements encouraging Ukraine to use Western weapons to carry out strikes on the Russian territory, warning that if it happens the Russian military could retaliate by hitting government structures in Kyiv.

It directly pointed at U.K. Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey, who told Times Radio that it was “not necessarily a problem” if Ukraine used British-donated weapons to hit sites on Russian soil.

The ministry said in a statement that “the Russian armed forces are ready to deal retaliatory strikes with long-range precision guided weapons on Kyiv centers that would make such decisions.” It noted that “the presence of citizens of one of Western countries in the Ukrainian decision-making centers won’t necessarily pose a problem for Russia in making a decision to launch retaliatory action.”

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The Russian military so far has avoided striking presidential, government and military headquarters in Kyiv during its campaign in Ukraine that has entered a third month.

Canada closed its Kyiv embassy in mid-February, before Russia’s invasion on Feb. 24, but Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly said Monday that Global Affairs is “actively looking” at reopening the embassy.

“Ensuring the safety of our staff is a top priority and we need to make sure the security situation on the ground allows for it,” Joly said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin recently visited Kyiv before moving on to Germany, where they met with representatives from more than 40 other countries to discuss aiding Ukraine’s defence on Tuesday. Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand was in attendance.

— with files from Eric Stober