Ukraine war: Kyiv monastery raid; Kherson evacuations; and Poland to deploy missile launchers
Ukraine's security service (SBU) has raided the main Orthodox Christian monastery in Kyiv over suspected links to Russia.
The SBU said on Telegram that it had carried out "counter-espionage measures" at the 1,000-year-old Kyiv Caves monastery on Tuesday morning.
The operation aimed to "counter the subversive activities of the Russian special services in Ukraine" it added.
The searches were carried out alongside Ukrainian police and the national guard, the SBU said. Worshippers were allowed to continue prying at the monastery but were subjected to SBU security checks.
"These measures are carried out to prevent the use [of the monastery] as a centre of the 'Russian world'," the SBU said.
The Kyiv Caves Lavra is the oldest monastery in Ukraine and has been on the Unesco World Heritage List since 1990. It is also the headquarters of the Russian-backed wing of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
The Moscow branch of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church had maintained close ties to Russia until May, following the invasion of Ukraine.
Two similar raids were also conducted on monasteries and Orthodox Church properties in the northwestern Ukrainian region of Rivne.
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has condemned the raids as "military action against the Russian Orthodox Church".
The head of a major Ukrainian energy provider has warned that citizens will likely have to live with blackouts at least until the end of March.
Sergey Kovalenko, head of the YASNO, said on Facebook that workers were rushing to complete repairs before winter arrives.
"Stock up on warm clothes and blankets and think about options that will help you wait a long outage," he said.
Half of Ukraine's energy infrastructure has been damaged by Russian attacks, according to President
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