MOSCOW, May 25. /TASS/. During a phone call with his US counterpart Marco Rubio on Monday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told America’s top diplomat that the Russian armed forces were beginning systematic strikes on sites in Kiev used by the armed forces of Ukraine (AFU), the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

"Upon Russian President Vladimir Putin’s instructions, Sergey Lavrov officially informed the American side that in response to the Kiev regime’s continued attacks against civilian population and infrastructure in Russia, the armed forces of the Russian Federation were beginning systematic and consistent strikes against military sites and corresponding decision-making centers in Kiev," the ministry said.

He also drew the US secretary of state’s attention to the Russian foreign ministry’s advice "to ensure the evacuation of their diplomatic personnel and other citizens from the Ukrainian capital."

In the course of the conversation, the minister "recalled the agreements reached at the highest level at the suggestion of the US in Anchorage in August 2025 regarding the Ukrainian conflict and expressed regret that the high-handed efforts of the European elites and the Kiev regime are undermining these agreements, which paved the way for a sustainable long-term settlement based on a balance of interests."

"The top diplomats exchanged opinions about diplomatic initiatives aimed at overcoming the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and pertaining to the situation around Cuba," the ministry added.

Also, Lavrov and Rubio "reiterated mutual commitment, despite the existing differences, to invigorate efforts to normalize the work of the Russian and US diplomatic missions in each other’s territories."