US rejects claim its diplomats fled kyiv as Zelensky pens letter to Trump demanding air defense

The United States reiterated Thursday that its diplomats remain in kyiv despite growing threats from Russia, rejecting a suggestion from the European Union’s top diplomat that Washington evacuate the Ukrainian capital.

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The reiterated U.S. commitment to the city came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote a rare letter, calling on President Donald Trump and Congress to strengthen air defense.

Russia had urged foreign diplomats to evacuate kyiv earlier this week, promising “systematic” new strikes after one of the most intense bombardments on the capital since the start of the war in 2022.

The new threat from Moscow has sparked fears in the city. Ukraine’s European allies have refused to leave, and the State Department told NBC News earlier this week that the U.S. presence in kyiv is not changing.

But on Thursday, EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas suggested otherwise.

“What we heard yesterday in Ukraine is that all the embassies remained, except one, so that also requires courage from those embassies, but yes, all the Europeans stayed, America left,” she told reporters before a meeting of foreign ministers in Cyprus.

The US embassy in kyiv quickly denied the claim and confirmed that it was also staying put. “There is no change in our operations and the reports are otherwise false,” he said in a post on X.

Ukraine also denied that US diplomats had evacuated the capital.

The official transcript of Kallas’s comments was later edited to remove the suggestion that the Americans had left the city. A note says it has been “updated with a correction regarding the diplomatic presence in kyiv.” Kallas spokeswoman Anitta Hipper told NBC News that “this was a misunderstanding. See published correction.”

Zelensky writes letter to Trump and Congress

Meanwhile, Zelensky wrote to Trump and Congress to request more American-made air defense munitions.

“It is quite rare for a leader of another state to simultaneously address the president and the Congress of the United States with a letter,” Zelensky said in his nightly speech. “But the situation now requires action, quick and effective action. It is important that America hears Ukraine.”

The Ukrainian leader urged Trump and Congress in the letter, obtained by The Associated Press, to provide more Patriot PAC-3 missiles and other air defense systems, warning that deliveries to Ukraine were dangerously insufficient as the war in Iran diverted U.S. stockpiles.

In recent months, Ukraine has attacked Russian targets, particularly oil facilities and manufacturing plants, with its domestically produced drones.

At the same time, the Russian military has stepped up its air attacks, firing nearly 90 missiles as well as hundreds of drones at kyiv last weekend in a bid to overwhelm air defenses.

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