Kremlin says Russia exacting retribution for attacks on civilian economy

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Monday that Russia is carrying out retaliatory strikes against Ukraine, accusing Kyiv of deliberately expanding its attacks to target the country's civilian economic infrastructure as Moscow warned foreign nationals to leave the capital immediately. Speaking at a daily briefing, Peskov stated that Russian armed forces were exacting retribution for recent Ukrainian actions. "What our armed forces are doing now is exacting retribution for that. Ukraine must - and certainly will - pay the price for these actions," he said, referring to strikes Kyiv has launched against Russian territory.

Warnings to foreign missions

The Kremlin spokesperson emphasized that military operations would continue regardless of the presence of foreign diplomatic missions in Kyiv. "Our Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry have repeatedly issued relevant warnings. The decision rests with the countries that maintain diplomatic missions in Kyiv. Our military continues its work," Peskov said. His comments followed a formal advisory from Russia's Foreign Ministry urging foreign citizens and diplomats to depart the Ukrainian capital and avoid travel to the country while steering clear of military and administrative facilities.

Energy diplomacy talks

Regarding a New York Times report suggesting that the potential sale of Lukoil's foreign assets formed part of US-Russia negotiations over a Ukraine settlement, Peskov declined to offer specific comment. "I will only say that the topic of potential interaction and cooperation in the energy sector does indeed come up during conversations with our American counterparts," he noted.

Border tensions with Estonia

On reports that Estonia was allegedly deploying troops closer to the Russian frontier, Peskov stated that Russian defense agencies possessed the necessary capabilities to monitor the situation. "There should be no doubt that our Ministry of Defense and other relevant agencies possess the necessary intelligence capabilities to properly monitor and assess the situation along our border," he said.