Russian Orthodox priests drove around the westernBryansk region with a religious icon in an attempt to protect it from a potential Ukrainian incursion, the local diocese said.Todays prayer was for the salvation of our fatherland and our native Bryansk region from enemy invasion, the diocese of Bryansk said in a social media post published late Tuesday.The automobile procession, carrying a revered 12th-century religious icon from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, was approved by Metropolitan Alexander of Bryansk and Sevsk.
Photos shared by the diocese showed priests traveling in a minivan with the icon.The diocese claimed that the miracle-working icon helped residents of Bryansk ward off Napoleon's troops in 1812, leading to annual processions held every Aug.
30.The Bryansk region has been on heightened alert since a surprise Ukrainian incursion into the neighboring Kursk region that began in early August.Religious leaders, including Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, have been vocal supporters of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.