EU ambassador to Ukraine describes delegation's work in Kyiv as Russian attacks intensify

Katarína Mathernová, the European Union's ambassador to Ukraine, has described how the EU Delegation's staff are working in Kyiv while Russia steps up its attacks on the Ukrainian capital. She spoke in an interview with the British newspaper The Guardian, which European Pravda reported.

According to Mathernová, the delegation is currently reinforcing the exterior walls of its building with sandbags, and beanbags have been placed in the corridors for staff to use during air raids. The building also has folding beds and extra showers.

The ambassador said the level of attacks is much higher than last year and that power cuts have begun earlier. The building has been left without water at times. In her words, the "soft underbelly" of a modern city is its sewage system. She called the attacks warning shots and said the Russians are growing more brazen and callous.

Mathernová said she sleeps on a mattress in the bathroom of her hotel room during Russian strikes. She also stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin's strategic goal is to destroy the EU, and that she believes the recent threats against embassies in Kyiv are intended to push some diplomats from the Global South to leave Ukraine.

Embassies remain in Kyiv

As the source notes, most ambassadors see their continued presence in Kyiv as a powerful signal of solidarity with Ukraine's embattled leadership. All EU embassies have announced they will stay in the capital.

Earlier, Mathernová recounted that many of her Ukrainian and international friends and colleagues from the EU delegation live in cold apartments, and some spend nights in unheated shelters. German Ambassador to Ukraine Boris Ruge recently said Russia had issued threats ahead of German Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to Kyiv in October.