The U.S. rejected claims that diplomats left Kyiv following Moscow's warnings to do so as it would step up attacks against the Ukrainian capital.
"There are no changes to our operations and reports otherwise are false," the U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said in a social media publication.
Top EU foreign policy official Kaja Kallas contradicted the U.S.'s position, telling press that "what we heard from Ukraine yesterday was that all the embassies stayed, except one, so that also takes courage from those embassies, but yes, all the European stayed, America left."
However, the comments were later amended to remove the claim. Kallas' spokesperson Anitta Hipper told NBC News that "this was a misunderstanding" and noted a correction was issued. Ukraine also denied U.S. diplomats had left.
The developments come after the Russian Ministry of Defense said on Monday that it would conduct 'systematic strikes' against Ukrainian military-industrial facilities in the capital.
The evacuation warning followed one of the most intense aerial assaults on Kyiv in recent months. Ukraine's air force said Russia used 600 drones and 90 missiles in the attack, including a powerful hypersonic ballistic missile called the Oreshnik, which is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
The Oreshnik struck the city of Bila Tserkva in the Kyiv region, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed, marking the third time the weapon has been used in the four-year war. Buildings across the Ukrainian capital were damaged in the assault, including areas near government offices, residential buildings and schools.
At the same time, a top Ukrainian official said the war has begun a decisive phase. Concretely, Brigadier General Andriy Biletsky told Reuters that Russian forces had sustained significant losses and are no longer able of achieving major breakthroughs.
Ukraine, he added, has continued adapting its battlefield tactics, particularly through expanded use of drones and precision strikes. If the country manages to build and sustain momentum, he claimed, its forces will be able to prevent Russia from seizing the last part of the Donetsk region it does not fully occupy. "I believe the next six to nine months are a turning point," he said.
"We need to define those directions where we can improve our positions, take some strategic points, and then speak with the Russians from a position of strength - not weakness - about a truly stable truce," Biletsky added.
