Ukrainian authorities have called on residents of the eastern city of Sloviansk to leave, as Russian forces advance in a new campaign to control Donetsk province after declaring victory in the neighboring Lugansk province.

"My biggest advice: leave," said Donetsk region governor Pavlo Kirilenko, addressing residents of the city of Sloviansk, adding that "not a day went by without shelling throughout the week."

With the fall of the city of Lyschansk last Sunday, Russian forces took control of Luhansk province, and are now seeking to advance towards the cities of Donetsk Province, taking control of all of the Donbass region in eastern Ukraine, parts of which have been controlled by pro-Moscow separatists since 2014.

"Heavy battles are taking place near Lyschansk. Russian forces are constantly trying to establish corridors to transport more equipment" towards Donetsk, Lugansk governor Sergei Gaidai said on Tuesday evening.

Sloviansk, which had a population of 100,000 before the war, and Kramatorsk became the new hot spots in the battles.

In this context, the British Ministry of Defense said in its daily update of intelligence related to the war, that the control of Slovyansk will be the next challenge in the conflict over Donbass.

On Tuesday, the Russian forces were about 10 kilometers from the city of Seversk, which has been under bombardment for several days, and about 50 kilometers from Sloviansk.

Ukrainian forces still control large parts of Donetsk Province, so the Russian advance will target 6 major industrial cities, starting with Bakhmut, Slovyansk and Kramatorsk.

Russian accusations

In other developments, Moscow announced the opening of an investigation into torture that Russian prisoners released by Ukrainian forces as part of exchanges say they were subjected to.

Ukraine and Russia, which have carried out several exchanges, accuse each other of mistreatment and torture of prisoners.

The Russian Defense Ministry also accused what it called "Ukrainian nationalists" in Donetsk province on Tuesday night of preparing "provocations with the use of toxic substances," large quantities of chlorine taken from a refining facility, the ministry said.

She added that the Ukrainian army uses chemical facilities as a headquarters for its soldiers and weapons, which "may lead to accidents that could cause the deaths of thousands of civilians."


port crisis

On the other hand, the crisis continues over grain exports from Ukrainian ports, and in its latest chapter, Reuters said that official documents showed that Ukraine had asked Turkey to help investigate 3 ships flying the Russian flag, as part of Kyiv's efforts to investigate what it says is the theft of grain from its territory. captured by Russia.

In a letter dated June 13, the Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office requested the Turkish Ministry of Justice to investigate and provide evidence regarding the three mentioned ships suspected of being involved in transporting grain allegedly stolen from Ukrainian territory.

The letter, seen by Reuters, said the ships set sail from the main grain terminal in Sevastopol on the Crimean peninsula in April and May.

Ukraine is one of the world's largest grain exporters, but it has struggled to export its production as war rages along its southern coast and many of its ports are closed.

Grain accounts for nearly a fifth of the country's total exports, according to official data.


20 . meeting

The grain crisis will be among the issues discussed by the foreign ministers of the Group of 20 countries during their meeting in Bali, Indonesia, on Friday.

US State Department officials said that Secretary of State Anthony Blinken - who heads to Asia today, Wednesday - will call on the Group of 20 countries to pressure Russia to accept UN efforts to open safe passages for ships from Ukrainian ports, amid global fears of a food crisis.

Also during the G-20 meeting, the United States is expected to repeat its warnings to China against supporting Moscow's war efforts.