Sunday, Ukraine reported that ongoing Russian shelling had destroyed three radiation monitors and injured a worker at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power facility, the largest nuclear complex in Europe. This was the second strike in consecutive days.

According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Saturday night's bombardment constituted "Russian nuclear terror," justifying more international sanctions, this time on Moscow's nuclear sector.

Zelenskiy declared in a televised address on Sunday that no nation could feel secure in the case of a terrorist assault against a nuclear power facility.

However, the Russian-installed government of the region claimed that Ukraine was responsible for damaging administrative buildings and an area near a multiple rocket launcher storage depot.

Reuters was unable to verify the claims of either party.

The world is horrified by the events in Zaporizhzhia, where Kyiv alleged Russia severed a power line on Friday.

Saturday, Rafael Mariano Grossi, the chairman of the International Atomic Energy Agency, issued the following warning: "This highlights the very real risk of a nuclear catastrophe."

Elsewhere, a plan to open Ukraine's food exports and ease global shortages gathered pace as four further ships departed Ukrainian Black Sea ports and the first cargo vessel landed since Russia's intrusion on February 24.

The four leaving ships were loaded with more than 170,000 tonnes of grain and other food goods. They were traveling in accordance with an agreement between the United Nations and Turkey to aid in mitigating the war's impact on soaring world food prices.

Prior to Moscow's incursion on February 24, which Russian President Vladimir Putin calls a "special military operation," Russia and Ukraine exported around one-third of the world's wheat. Since then, the disruption has threatened global food security in particular places.

BATTLE FOR DONBAS

Putin's troops are seeking to seize total control of the Donbas region in eastern Ukraine, where pro-Russian separatists have gained territory since the 2014 annexation of Crimea.

Sunday, Russian forces escalated their operations north and northwest of Donetsk city in the Donbas, according to the Ukrainian military. According to the report, Russian forces attacked Ukrainian positions in the heavily fortified settlements of Piski and Avdiivka and blasted other locations in the Donetsk area.

In addition to solidifying its dominance over the Donbas, Russia is strengthening its position in southern Ukraine, according to Kiev, where it has gathered troops to prevent a possible counteroffensive at Kherson.

Russians stationed in Ukraine's conquered land after Moscow's invasion are considering annexing it to Russia while fighting rages. Last month, a senior pro-Russian official said that a vote on such a measure was likely "next year."

In his video message, Zelenskiy claimed that any "pseudo-referendums" on occupied sections of his country joining Russia would eliminate the possibility of talks between Moscow and its Ukrainian counterparts or their supporters.

"They will obstruct for themselves any chance for discussions with Ukraine and the free world that Russia will unavoidably need at some point," Zelenskiy continued.

Also on Sunday, the chief prosecutor for war crimes in Ukraine revealed that over 26,000 suspected war crimes committed since the invasion are being investigated, with 135 individuals being charged and 15 individuals being detained. Russia denies attacking civilians.

According to Ukrainian officials, shelling and missile assaults were reported overnight in Kharkiv and the western neighborhood of Vinnitsya, among other sites. There were no early reports of casualties.

Former Russian deputy prime minister Arkady Dvorkovich defeated Ukraine's Andrii Baryshpolets in a proxy war to gain a second term as president of the International Chess Federation.

And after many days of outrage, Amnesty International issued an apology for the "distress and fury" caused by a report accusing Ukraine of injuring individuals. This had infuriated Zelenskiy and prompted the director of the rights organization's Ukraine branch to depart.