The five were killed Saturday in the “massive” Iranian strikes when a missile hit a residential building in the city, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said.
Meanwhile, Russia said on Sunday it had evacuated several of its citizens from Iran and halted activity at its Tehran consulate after Israeli attacks on the country sparked retaliatory missile fire towards Israel.
“Due to the current situation, the consular service of the embassy is temporarily suspending its activities. The resumption of consular services will be announced later,” the Russian embassy in Tehran said on Telegram.
Russian Culture Minister Olga Lyubimova said musicians from the Tchaikovsky Grand Symphony Orchestra were evacuated from Iran.
“The musicians crossed the Azerbaijani border. Yesterday (Saturday), Fyodor Bondarchuk’s film crew left Iran via the same route,” she said on Telegram, referring to the Russian director and actor.
Russia’s civil aviation authority ordered airlines to suspend flights to Iran and Israel and avoid their airspace, along with that of Jordan and Iraq, until at least June 26, following official travel warnings issued Friday.
Israel launched unprecedented strikes on Iran’s military and nuclear facilities early Friday, saying it aimed to stop Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.
Iran has responded with multiple missile salvos targeting Israel.
President Vladimir Putin, who maintains ties with both Iran and Israel, condemned Israel’s strikes and warned of a “dangerous escalation” in the Middle East.
Trump Due In Canada As G7 Tackles Israel-Iran Conflict
Group of Seven leaders, including US President Donald Trump, headed Sunday to the Canadian Rockies for a summit that takes on new urgency after Israel attacked Iran.
The three-day gathering in the mountain town of Kananaskis marks the return to the international diplomatic calendar by Trump, who in his second term has been even more emboldened to shatter norms than in his first stint.
Trump is visiting Canada despite his mockery of the United States’ northern neighbor, which he has said would be better off as the 51st state.
Tensions have eased since Prime Minister Mark Carney, a former central banker known more for his competence than pizzazz, took over in March from Justin Trudeau, an erstwhile star on the global stage whom Trump made no secret of despising.
Carney had designed an agenda aimed at minimizing disagreements during the summit of the Club of Major Industrial Democracies — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United States.
But the leaders will likely see divisions as they discuss Israel’s stunning military campaign that began Friday and is aimed at Iran’s nuclear program and security apparatus.
Iran has hit back with a barrage of missiles and drones against Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched the attack despite public calls by Trump to step back, as the United States and Iran had been holding talks on a diplomatic resolution over the clerically run state’s contested nuclear work.
Trump nonetheless has since praised Israel’s strikes, while also calling on the two sides to “make a deal.”
European powers have been cautious. French President Emmanuel Macron has called for restraint and urged Iran to re-enter talks with the United States, while blaming Tehran for escalating tensions over its nuclear program.
Japan, which historically has maintained cordial ties with Iran, made an unusually forceful break with Western allies and denounced Israel’s strikes as “completely unacceptable and deeply regrettable.”
Disagreement
Another war will also be under discussion in Kananaskis. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is among the invited guests and hopes to speak to Trump, who publicly derided him when they met at the White House on February 28.
Trump had hoped to force Ukraine into a quick deal with Russia, but he has grown frustrated after President Vladimir Putin refused US-led appeals for at least a temporary truce.
Trump spoke by telephone with Putin on Saturday both about the Israel-Iran conflict and Ukraine.
Neither issue is expected to be addressed in a joint G7 communique, with Carney instead seeking statements on low-controversy issues, such as improving supply chains.
Trump, when he last visited Canada for a G7 summit in 2018, bolted out early and, from Air Force One, tweeted insults about Trudeau and disassociated the United States from the final statement.
G7 leaders have all voiced eagerness to engage Trump, but in some cases have made clear their boundaries.
Macron headed to the summit after stopping in Greenland, where he denounced Trump’s threats to seize the Danish autonomous territory.
“That’s not what allies do,” Macron said.
Trump, for his part, is heading to the summit after attending an unusual military parade in Washington that coincided with his birthday, prompting nationwide protests over steps seen as increasingly authoritarian.
Trade Deadline Looms
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also spoke by telephone Saturday with Trump and called for pressure on Russia over the Ukraine invasion.
She also voiced hope for progress in trade talks. Trump, seeking a radical transformation of the global economic order centered on free trade, has vowed to slap sweeping tariffs on US friends and foes alike on July 9, a deadline he had previously postponed.
Josh Lipsky, chair of international economics at the Atlantic Council, expected US allies to tread lightly on the tariffs, as previous experience had shown the “huge risk” of pushing Trump too hard.
“If it was a ganging up, I think that would backfire,” he said.
Other leaders invited to Kananaskis include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as Canada hopes to ease tensions.
Trudeau had accused Modi’s government of masterminding the assassination of a Sikh separatist in Canada, which expelled the Indian ambassador, prompting New Delhi to take punitive action of its own.
Via: Agence France-Presse
