Russia again urges residents, foreign diplomatic missions to leave Kyiv

Russia on Thursday urged residents and diplomats to leave Kyiv for the second time in less than 24 hours, warning of a potential retaliatory strike during a unilateral ceasefire Moscow declared around its WWII victory holiday on May 9.

"We remind the civilian population of Kyiv and staff at foreign diplomatic missions once again of the need to leave the city in good time," the defence ministry said in a statement, promising to "answer in kind" in case of a Ukrainian attack.

Germany says won't be intimidated after Russian threat to Kyiv

Germany said Thursday it would "not be intimidated" after Russia warned foreign diplomats in Kyiv that it would attack the city if Ukraine disrupted World War II commemorations in Moscow this weekend.

Berlin "will continue to support Ukraine and increase the pressure on Russia", the foreign ministry said in a statement to AFP. "(President Vladimir) Putin's threats once again show that he is not prepared for serious negotiations."