Russia is telling Western diplomats to leave Kyiv ahead of expected strikes, but the US and EU are ignoring the warning — bad news for anyone still on the ground and a sign the war may be entering a final, violent phase.

• Russia's Security Council says strikes on Kyiv could come at any moment, likely in response to a drone attack that killed 21 girls at a Russian college.
• US senators including Blumenthal flew into Kyiv to say America is not leaving, while Zelensky flew to Sweden to line up a $90 billion deal for Gripen fighter jets.
• Ukraine is borrowing the $90 billion from the EU, mortgaging its future while large parts of the country are already pledged to the IMF, World Bank, and Western asset managers.
• Russia claims US firm Palantir has been providing AI targeting and satellite data to Ukraine's military, tying American tech directly to the war.
• CNN and Western think tanks are pushing a narrative that Ukraine is winning, even as Ukraine begs for more weapons and has lost a generation of soldiers.

Outlook: Major Russian strikes on Kyiv look likely in the coming days, and Western governments show no sign of pulling diplomats out.