Ukraine town warned to evacuate ahead of Russian assault

By FRANCESCA EBEL
Associated Press

KRAMATORSK, Ukraine (AP) — A day after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared victory in seizing the eastern Ukrainian region of Luhansk, the mayor of a city that could be next in Moscow’s firing line warned residents to evacuate ahead of an expected assault. Sloviansk Mayor Vadim Lyakh’s warning Tuesday underscored fears that Russia will press deeper into eastern Ukraine’s Donbas industrial heartland after Kyiv withdrew its forces from the city of Lysychansk on Sunday to avoid being surrounded. Sloviansk, which was the arena of intense battles in 2014 at the start of the separatist conflict in eastern Ukraine, is widely viewed as the next target of the Russian offensive as the war that began in February grinds on.