‘If you don’t shower, so what?’ The western diplomats staying put in under-attack Kyiv

The warning from Moscow was blunt. Western diplomats should immediately leave the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. If they failed to do so they would be 'in mortal danger'. The statement added that Russia would not be responsible for any 'potential negative consequences' if its advice was ignored.

European envoys in Kyiv responded to the Kremlin's threat last month with a loud raspberry. Denmark's ambassador to Ukraine, Thomas Lund-Sørensen, took to social media to say that he was staying. So did the ambassadors from Germany, Italy, Spain, Sweden, France, Poland and Estonia. Even the Americans indicated they would not be budging.

Defiance and determination

Denmark's ambassador, Thomas Lund-Sørensen, said the Russians were trying to spook Europeans to undermine support for Ukraine. 'It's cognitive warfare. These attacks have been going on for a long time. They are trying to influence public opinion in my country. Of course we will continue here,' he said.

Escalating attacks

The decision to remain in a city under fire is not without risk. On Friday, a drone crashed into a hospital in central Kyiv, a few hundred metres from Lund-Sørensen's workplace. Russia has dramatically stepped up its attacks since August, hurling missiles and hundreds of jet-powered drones.

Major urban centres such as Kharkiv and Odesa have suffered too. Seemingly frustrated by failure to progress on the battlefield, the Kremlin has intensified its all-out campaign against civilians. It has targeted bridges across the Dnipro river, thermal heating plants and substations, as well as trains and railway stations.

Power cuts last most of the day. In the past week, there was no water for 24 hours. The bombing has reached the historic centre of Kyiv, where many embassies are located. In October the German consulate was damaged in an attack that killed eight people.

Diplomats under fire

In 2025, two missiles landed in the car park next to the EU delegation building. Deadly metal cubes perforated its ground floor, shattering armoured windows. This September, a drone exploded 500 metres away. Debris ravaged the ninth-floor, bringing down glass, ceiling panels, and the ventilation system.

'I was in a meeting with seven colleagues. We ran to the corridor,' Katarína Mathernová, the EU's ambassador in Kyiv, said. 'I've never heard anything that loud in my life. There were plumes of smoke. It was shocking.'

The delegation is now reinforcing its outer walls with sandbags. It has put beanbags in corridors for staff to use during air raids. There are foldable beds and extra showers. Mathernová described Russia's latest threat as 'intimidation', made in the hope that some diplomats might abandon Kyiv.

Symbol of solidarity

As the capital braces for winter, ambassadors say their continued presence sends a powerful signal of solidarity to Ukraine's embattled leadership. 'They tell us thank you for being here,' Lund-Sørensen said. A fellow ambassador added: 'We would all like to stay. We feel conscious that our presence is politically and psychologically important for Ukraine and its resilience.'

The envoy acknowledged: 'I have a privileged existence. An alarm goes off and I go and sleep in the basement. Ukrainians have adapted their security protocols. But it's more inconvenient. There's a degree of nervousness.' Mathernová said she sleeps on a mattress in the bathroom of her hotel suite during Russian strikes.

For visiting prime ministers and presidents, getting to and from Kyiv has become more dangerous. The capital's airport has been shut since the 2022 invasion. Train or car are the only options. On a recent journey from Poland, the envoy said he had to leave his rail compartment twice because of marauding drones.