While negotiating with Russia, Ukraine completely severed diplomatic relations with Russia and closed the Ukrainian Embassy in Russia and the Consulate General in St. Petersburg, Russia. The Russian news agency reported on March 2 that the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry ordered the Ukrainian Embassy in Russia to evacuate Russia on the same day and lowered the Ukrainian flag, while Ukraine also closed its Consulate General in St. Petersburg on the same day.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs completely closed the Ukrainian Embassy in Russia and the Consulate General in St. Petersburg, Russia, in fact, the implementation of President Zelenskiy's instructions, on February 24, the Russian army launched a large-scale attack on Ukraine, Zelenskiy announced on the same day that Ukraine and Russia broke off diplomatic relations.
Why did the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry not implement the supreme directive on the severance of diplomatic relations with Russia until the 7th day of the Russo-Ukrainian War? First of all, when the war first broke out, Zelenskiy announced that he had broken diplomatic relations with Russia as an attitude of resistance, but did not immediately carry out the order because the Ukrainian side had not yet figured out the direction of the war and Russia's true intentions, and the diplomatic mission continued to stay in Russia to facilitate contact, communication, and negotiation with the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant functional departments, leaving room for itself.
Secondly, on the eve of the first round of negotiations between Russia and Ukraine on the 28th, Russia showed the bottom card, Ukraine already knew what Russia was thinking and wanting, and the Ukrainian diplomatic mission had no effect on staying in Russia.
Third, with the continuation of the war, the United States and the European Union have continuously increased sanctions against Russia, and have continuously provided funds, weapons, and political, diplomatic, intelligence, public opinion, and so on to Ukraine. The closure of Ukraine's embassy in Russia and the Consulate General in St. Petersburg actually sends a signal to Russia: never give in and resist to the end! This is tricky for Russia, and it must be planned early.
