Putin wants Kyiv evacuated so he can bomb it in peace

Russia has once again called on foreigners and diplomats in Kyiv to leave the Ukrainian capital, warning that the Russian army will continue its mass attacks. Saturday's statement from the foreign ministry even added that anyone who ignores the warning bears full responsibility for the consequences. What considerate killers: they warn in advance that they're going to shoot, and then it's the victim's fault if they stay in the way.

According to a report by AFP, carried by Agerpres, Moscow is talking about "retaliatory" strikes against military targets in Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities. The Ukrainian capital has come under especially intense attacks in recent weeks, and strikes on bridges have caused severe traffic disruptions. The use of the word "retaliation" is brazen in itself: the occupier acts as if it were the wronged party, now forced to punish a country that refuses to obediently die for Russian expansion.

Moscow now expects diplomatic missions to quietly leave, foreigners to flee, and the Ukrainians who stay behind to accept that Putin has ordered them yet another bombardment. The response of foreign governments will show how well this blackmail works, but the question is already damn uncomfortable: how long can a European capital be threatened like this, with the aggressor dictating the terms while everyone else merely organizes the evacuation of their own people? At times like this, it's also the diplomats' job to tell their own governments plainly: this madman has not been stopped by the responses so far. And it's time for foreign ministers, together with their defense ministers, to demand action that actually has consequences for Moscow. Because as long as Putin can be sure that everyone else backs off with each new threat, he will keep learning that it pays to keep threatening.

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