INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Russian forces left a trail of destruction Thursday as they sought to push deeper into the eastern Donbas region, as Kyiv thanked outgoing
British leader Boris Johnson for his support.Diplomatic tensions mounted between Ankara and Kyiv, where Ukrainian officials have accused
Turkey of ignoring calls to seize grain being transported by a Russian ship.A Russian air strike in the eastern industrial city of
Kramatorsk left at least one dead and several others wounded earlier in the day, as Russia seeks full control of the surrounding Donbas.The
explosion left a gaping crater next to a hotel and residential buildings and several cars were on the fire, AFP journalists said, as
emergency services arrived on the scene.Kyiv hailed Johnson, one of the embattled country's keenest allies throughout the war, as the
British leader made the first step towards leaving office but said the U.K
before the strike on Kramatorsk that Russian bombardments had killed at least seven people over the past 24 hours.The fatalities came after
Ukrainian officials re-issued urgent pleas for civilians in the surrounding region to flee, as Russian forces turn their sights on the
who is six months pregnant, were evacuated from the city the day before."Tomorrow I will join the army," he said.'Well fortified'Sloviansk
mayor Vadym Lyakh said around 23,000 people remained from a pre-war population of 110,000."Evacuation is ongoing
We take people out every day," he said."The city is well fortified," he added, claiming Russian forces had been unable to surround the
city.Sloviansk is Russia's next target after their capture of the nearby sister cities of Sievierodonetsk and Lysychansk.Russian forces
captured the cities in the Luhansk region after long battles, consolidating their hold in the east after failing at the start of the
February invasion to take the capital kyiv and Ukraine's second-largest city Kharkiv.A diplomatic crisis too was flaring between Ukraine and
Turkey over the apparent transport by Russia of grain allegedly stolen from Ukraine.Kyiv says that a 7,000-ton vessel, the Zhibek Zholy, set
off from Ukraine's Kremlin-occupied port of Berdyansk after picking up confiscated wheat and called last week for Turkey to seize it.The
marinetraffic.com website on Thursday showed the vessel moving away from Turkey's Black Sea port of Karasu before apparently switching off
its transponder and disappearing from view.Ukraine said it was "deeply disappointed" that Turkey had not acted on its request to seize the
ship.Kyiv was also reeling from the shock of losing one of its most vocal allies in the conflict with Russia, UK Prime Minister Johnson."We
all welcome this news with sadness
Not only me, but also all of Ukrainian society," President Volodymyr Zelensky said, after Johnson resigned as leader of Britain's
Conservative party, paving the way for the selection of a new prime minister."We don't doubt that Great Britain's support will continue, but
your personal leadership and your charisma made it special," he said.'Control over Snake Island'Despite Ukraine's recent territorial losses,
Zelensky in an evening address on Wednesday had praised new heavy Western artillery for boosting Ukraine's firepower."Their accuracy is
of the occupiers," he said.Ukraine also said it had regained control of Snake Island in the Black Sea, after raising its flag there this
week following the withdrawal of Russian forces.Senior military official Oleksiy Gromov said Ukrainian forces had "effectively
control over Snake Island," but did not specify whether there was a lasting military presence on the rocky outcrop.Russia said it pulled
back from the symbolic island last week in a gesture of "good will," but has since continued targeting positions on the island.The Russian
Defense Ministry said it had carried out "precision" missile strikes on the island early Thursday, killing Ukrainian soldiers and forcing
survivors to flee.Finland meanwhile passed legislation to build stronger fences on its border with Russia, as the country seeks to join NATO
