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During a press conference on June 2, President Volodymyr Zelensky fielded questions about Ukraine's upcoming counteroffensive, emphasizing that it's "not a movie" and it was difficult to describe in advance to the public how it will proceed.
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President Volodymyr Zelensky ordered Strategic Industries Minister Oleksandr Kamyshin and Interior Minister Ihor Klymenko to conduct a full audit of all bomb shelters in Ukraine. The decision, announced on June 2, came after three people died in Kyiv while trying to enter a closed shelter during a Russian attack the day prior.
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The responses by Russian officials and military bloggers to the recent raid in Belgorod Oblast reveal rising anxiety within the Russian information space about the war, the Institute for the Study of War said in its latest update on June 1.
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SBU: Moscow Patriarchate official blessed Russian soldiers during occupation of Kharkiv Oblast

by The Kyiv Independent news desk April 4, 2023 4:50 PM 1 min read
This audio is created with AI assistance

A priest of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate blessed Russian soldiers during the Russian occupation of Kharkiv Oblast, Security Service (SBU) reported on April 4.

The church official organized a procession to commemorate the Baptism of Kyivan Rus and prompted local residents in Kupiansk to attend.

During the "service," he blessed Russian forces and consecrated their convoys of military equipment. It is suspected that he used the religious service as a guise to urge locals to support the occupation.

According to the SBU, the church official ordered his colleagues to record the entire event on camera for later publication on Kremlin media resources.

The church official fled to Russia following the liberation of Kharkiv Oblast, the SBU wrote.

The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate is not to be confused with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which was granted autocephaly (ecclesiastical independence) by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople in January 2019.

Recently, Kyiv ordered the religious leaders from the Moscow Patriarchate to leave the premises of the Kyiv Pechersk Lavra, the church's stronghold.

The Khmelnytskyi Сity Сouncil also revoked the Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the Moscow Patriarchate's land rights on April 4 after a military officer was assaulted at their place of worship.

Ukraine has long accused the Moscow Patriarchate's representatives in Ukraine of serving as the Kremlin's propaganda arm on the religious front.

Destruction, isolation, and controversy in frontline monastery of Sviatohirsk
SVIATOHIRSK, Donetsk Oblast – For centuries, the gleaming whitewashed walls of the Sviatohirsk Dormition Lavra, peeking out of the hilly forest above the Siverskyi Donets River, attracted pilgrims from across the Eastern Orthodox world. Now, in an obscene imitation of a Jackson Pollock painting, the…
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