Ukraine updates: Kyiv issues evacuation orders in Pokrovsk

The Russian Foreign Ministry summoned senior US diplomat Stephanie Holmes on Tuesday to protest against what it called the "provocative actions" of American journalists reporting from Russia's Kursk region.

Although it doesn't name the journalists, the outlets or the reports, Moscow is presumably referring to recent dispatches by CNN and the Washington Post from Sudzha, a Russian border town currently under the control of Ukrainian troops.

It said the correspondents "illegally entered the Kursk region for propaganda coverage of the Kyiv regime's crimes" and that their actions "clearly prove the involvement of the United States as a direct participant in the conflict."

A Washington Post spokesperson told the Reuters news agency: "We are proud of our reporting on the Ukraine-Russia war and remain committed to covering all aspects of this important, evolving conflict."

Last Friday, Russia summoned the Italian ambassador to protest an "illegal border crossing" by a team of reporters from Italian state broadcaster RAI, who also accessed Sudzha under Ukrainian military escort.

Ukrainian lawmakers voted by a strong majority to ban the Russian Orthodox Church within Ukraine. Of 322 lawmakers present at the session, 265 voted in favor.

The Russian church still answers to the Moscow Patriarchate, which supports the invasion of Ukraine. Therefore, the church has been accusied of supporting crimes against its own people.

Some 10,000 Ukrainians are believed to still belong to the church.

"The aim is to destroy the deeply canonical, true Orthodoxy," said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.

"As of today, our forces control over 1,250 square kilometers of the enemy's territory," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said during a speech.

He noted that the main tactical objective of the offensive, which was to reduce the threat to Ukraine's Sumy border region, had been successful. 

Zelenskyy also said proudly that they had crossed "the strictest of all red lines that Russia has," by invading so far into their territory. This proves, he said, that their alleged "red lines" were a bluff.

"The world sees that everything in this war depends only on courage, our courage, the courage of our partners. On brave decisions for Ukraine, on courage in supporting Ukraine."

According to Russian authorities, some 500 firefighters were still struggling to put out a massive fire that began on Sunday following an Ukrainian strike on an oil depot in the southern Rostov region. 

The fire in the town of Proletarsk burned across an area of 10,000 square meters (107,000 square feet). Russian state-owned news agency TASS reported that 41 firefighters had been injured in the blaze.

The Ukrainian government issued an evacuation order for the eastern city of Pokrovsk, as the Russian army drew closer and closer to town. Some residents had already fled, but about 53,000 people were still residing there as of Tuesday morning. 

Parents with small children and heavy suitcases in their arms could be seen alongside the cities elderly residents, who were helped by volunteers. People of all ages bordered buses and trains out of the city.

Pokrovsk is one of Ukraine's main defensive strongholds and a  key logistics hub in the Donetsk region.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the Ukrainian military controlled 92 settlements in Russia's Kursk region amid their ongoing offensive.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that he will visit Kyivon Friday following an invitation from Zelenskyy.

Modi's close relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin had ruffled the feathers of some of India's Western allies.

In a new report, the United Nations listedUkraine as one of the most dangerous places for humanitarian aid workers in 2023.

es/rm (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)