Ukraine and Russia continue to blame each other for the strikes against the Zaporizhzhia NPP. The Russian forces which seized the nuclear power plant say they want a temporary ceasefire. “Any radiation incident at the Zaporizhzhia NPP can affect the countries of the European Union, Turkey, Georgia and countries from more distant regions,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his part said. “If Russia's actions cause a catastrophe, the consequences may also hit those who remain silent so far,” President Zelensky stated and called for new tougher sanctions against Russia and not to yield to “nuclear blackmail”.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu held a phone call with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to discuss conditions for safe functioning of Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, the ministry said on Monday, Reuters reports. Moscow on its part declared it would do what was necessary to allow IAEA specialists to enter the facility. Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the UN Secretary-General stated: “In close contact with the IAEA, the UN Secretariat has assessed that it has in Ukraine the logistics and security capacity to be able to support any IAEA mission to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant from Kyiv, should both Ukrainian and Russian authorities agree.”

Meanwhile, world news agencies report that in the self-proclaimed so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, three of the five foreigners fighting for Ukraine captured fighting could be sentenced to death.