“The United States will respond militarily to any Russian attack on its citizens or interests in Ukraine.”That’s how the Trump administration should respond to Russian threats to target the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv.On Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov warned Secretary of State Marco Rubio to evacuate U.S. diplomats from Kyiv. On Tuesday, deputy Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov explained that Lavrov had told Rubio “that considering the scale of the upcoming actions from our side, there is a need to evacuate personnel from U.S. and other Western diplomatic institutions, as well as their citizens, from Kyiv. That was the meaning of the signal that was sent.”
This threat to Americans follows Russia’s pledge that it will devastate areas of Kyiv that it claims it has previously avoided targeting. Russian officials say this will be necessary retaliation for Friday’s Ukrainian attack on a student dormitory in the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Starobilsk. While Russia claims that the attack killed more than 20 innocent people, Ukrainian officials say it targeted a Russian military drone unit. It is unclear what actually happened.
If Ukraine made a mistake, it should own up to it. Regardless, Russia’s claims of moral outrage are prima facie absurd. Russia has repeatedly and deliberately attacked Ukrainian civilian targets, including apartment buildings and even pediatric hospitals. Indeed, Russia’s hypocrisy here is quite stunning. Earlier this month, for example, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky avoided targeting an annual military parade in Moscow after Russia begged President Donald Trump to pressure Zelensky. Russia then reciprocated this Ukrainian gift by killing dozens of its civilians in drone and missile attacks on cities across the country. This speaks to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s nature. He is a profoundly anti-American former KGB officer who revels in mixing deception with thuggish threats.
