Latest developments in the Russian war on Ukraine:
- Nuclear plant -
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for international inspectors to be given access to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after Ukraine and Russia traded accusations over the shelling of Europe's largest atomic plant at the weekend.
Ukraine said on Sunday that renewed Russian shelling had damaged three radiation sensors and hurt a worker at the Zaporizhzhia plant, in the second hit in consecutive days on Europe's largest nuclear facility.
The Russian-installed authority of the area said Ukrainian forces hit the site with a multiple rocket launcher, damaging administrative buildings and an area near a storage facility.
The Russian embassy in Washington also released a statement itemising the damage. It said two high-voltage power lines and a water pipeline were damaged as a result of shelling by "Ukrainian nationalists" on Aug 5.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called for a stronger international response to what he described as Russian "nuclear terror" after shelling at the Zaporizhzhia plant.
The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency raised grave concerns on Saturday, saying the action showed the risk of a nuclear disaster.
- Grains -
Four ships carrying Ukrainian foodstuffs sailed from Ukrainian Black Sea ports as part of a deal to unblock the country's sea exports, Ukrainian and Turkish officials said.
Pope Francis welcomed the departure from Ukrainian ports of the first ships carrying grain previously blockaded by Russia, saying the breakthrough could be a model for dialogue to bring an end to the war in Ukraine.
- Fighting -
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy said that if Russia proceeded with referendums in occupied areas of his country on joining Russia, there could be no talks with Ukraine or its international allies.
The Ukrainian military said Russian forces tried over the weekend to conduct assaults in six different areas in eastern Donetsk region, all of which failed to gain any territory and were held back by Ukrainian forces.