INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
12th-century religious icon from the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, was approved by Metropolitan Alexander of Bryansk and Sevsk
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
