U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres dubbed shelling over the weekend of the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant as "suicidal" and called for international inspectors to be given access to the site after Russia and Ukraine shifted blame for the attacks.
It comes as the Russian-appointed administration of Zaporizhzhia region moved ahead with steps to hold a referendum on joining Russia. Evgeny Balitsky signed a decree Monday to kick-start the process, Russia's RIA Novosti news agency reported.
Meantime, the Kremlin said there is currently no basis for a meeting between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Russia's former president and one of President Vladimir Putin's closest allies, Dmitry Medvedev, also said Monday that Moscow would achieve its aims in the conflict in Ukraine on its own terms.
Elsewhere, two more ships carrying corn and soybeans left from Ukraine's Black Sea ports, taking the total number of shipments to 10 since a new deal aimed at alleviating a worsening global food crisis was launched last week.