NATO Leaders Stray Into Russia's Crosshairs With High-Risk Kyiv Trip

Three NATO prime ministers announced Tuesday, March 15 they would visit Ukraine's capital Kyiv in a show of solidarity with President Volodymyr Zelensky and the Ukrainian defenders who are holding off invading Russian forces around the city's outskirts.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala, and Slovenian Prime Minister Janez Jansa said they will meet with Zelensky and his Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal in Kyiv on Tuesday, even as the city's Mayor Vitali Klitschko announced a new 35-hour curfew beginning on Tuesday evening.

"The capital is the heart of Ukraine, and it will be defended. Kyiv, which is currently the symbol and forward operating base of Europe's freedom and security, will not be given up by us," Klitschko said.

Kyiv City Deputy Mayor Kostiantyn Usov told Newsweek the curfew was announced due to concerns about fresh Russian infiltration, sabotage, and other covert operations within the city, which remains at risk of Russian encirclement.

Such operations would likely precede a fresh Russian push to surround the capital, Usov said, a key strategic goal that has eluded the Russians for 20 days.

Kyiv is under regular bombardment by Russian missiles, artillery, and aircraft, while the streets are now choked with roadblocks, fortified strongpoints, and armed patrols. Several residential buildings in the capital were bombed on Monday night, and fierce clashes continue in the devastated northwestern suburbs of Irpin, Bucha, and Gostomel, among others.

The NATO prime ministers risk straying into Russian crosshairs with their Tuesday visit. The presence of two NATO foreign ministers—Edgars Rinkevics of Latvia and Eva-Maria Liimets of Estonia—did not dissuade the attacks on Kyiv that opened the Russian invasion on February 24.

One source close to Zelensky's government, who did not wish to be named as they were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, told Newsweek they did not believe the Russians would let up on the capital during the prime ministers' visit.

Usov, when asked if the Russians would delay offensive operations until NATO leaders were gone, replied: "No, they will not."

Many in and around Zelensky's government see Russia as impervious to NATO's diplomatic coercion. Moscow, they say, does not believe NATO will risk serious military escalation, giving the Kremlin a free hand to dictate the war's limits.

One European diplomatic official, who also did not wish to be named, told Newsweek that Russian conduct so far offers little comfort.

"The worry is the Russians simply do not care anymore; if they are deliberately targeting civilians, journalists and high sensitivity locations, they would not necessarily pay attention to officials," the official said.

"Let's not forget there were a couple of foreign ministers in Kyiv when the attack started...One would hope they start facing the reality, because NATO for sure would respond immediately if its leaders are attacked."

Ukrainian officials have regularly warned that Russian special operations teams—reportedly including Wagner Group mercenaries and Chechen forces—have been assigned assassination, capture and other covert missions within Kyiv.

Zelensky's office, for example, says the president has survived more than 12 attempts on his life since the invasion began.

Russian forces around Kyiv—and other major objectives such as Kharkiv in the east and Mykolaiv in the south—have been relatively static in recent days, according to briefings from the Ukrainian government and the Pentagon.

It is believed they may be preparing for fresh attempts to encircle or take such major cities, which would give President Vladimir Putin greater leverage in the ongoing ceasefire talks with the Ukrainians.

Correction, 3/15/22 9 a.m. ET: This article has been corrected to reflect the situation in Kyiv's northwestern suburbs.