Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday warned neighbouring countries to not escalate tensions over the Ukrainian crisis.
“There are no bad intentions towards our neighbours. And I would also advise them not to escalate the situation, not to introduce any restrictions. We fulfil all our obligations and will continue to fulfil them,” Putin said in televised remarks.
The Russian President also said, “We do not see any need here to aggravate or worsen our relations. And all our actions, if they arise, they always arise exclusively in response to some unfriendly actions, actions against the Russian Federation.”
Russian forces seized the largest nuclear power plant in Europe after a building at the complex was set ablaze during intense fighting with Ukrainian defenders, Ukrainian authorities said Friday.
Fears of a potential nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhzhia plant had spread alarm across world capitals, before authorities said the fire in a building identified as a training centre, had been extinguished.
The head of the United Nations’ atomic watchdog said there has been no release of radiation at the Ukrainian nuclear plant that was targeted.
Meanwhile, fighting intensified in southern Ukraine as Kherson became the first city to fall into Russian hands as shelling continued in Mariupol, Chernihiv and Kharkiv.
Heavy fighting is continuing on the outskirts of a strategic port city on the Azov Sea, Mariupol. The Russian military says it controls Kherson, and local Ukrainian officials have confirmed Russian forces have taken over local government headquarters in the Black Sea port of 2.8 lakh people.
A member of Ukraine’s delegation sent to speak with the Russians said both sides have agreed to establish corridors for civilians to safely leave combat zones. The corridors will include cease-fires along the path, said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy.