Russia’s foreign ministry formally warned the US to evacuate Americans from Kyiv as Moscow announced plans for “systematic and consistent strikes” on Ukrainian military and decision-making centres — the EU mission in Kyiv said it was “not going anywhere.” The UK published 18 new sanctions today targeting the Kremlin-backed A7 sanctions-evasion network, as Russia slashed its 2026 growth forecast from 1.3% to 0.4%. The EU General Affairs Council met to debate the MFF 2028-2034 framework, EU-UK relations, and the 8th Accession Conference with Albania. The Baltic states condemned Russia’s plan to bring an ICJ case over Russian-speaking minorities. Serbia’s anti-government protesters clashed with riot police in Belgrade. Spotify’s CEO publicly defended the Universal Music AI deal. Today’s Europe intelligence brief tracks eight decisions converging on the Tuesday tape.
01 · Russia / Ukraine — Lavrov Warns US to Evacuate Kyiv as Russia Announces Systematic Strikes
Russia’s Foreign Ministry formally told US Secretary of State Rubio that Moscow would launch “systematic and consistent strikes” against Ukrainian military facilities and “decision-making centres” in Kyiv, and urged all foreigners — including diplomats — to leave the city as quickly as possible. The warning followed one of Russia’s heaviest bombardments of Kyiv since the start of the war, which killed four civilians and injured more than 100 on Sunday, including the use of an Oreshnik hypersonic missile.
