LIVE UPDATES: Air Raid Warnings Issued in Several Ukrainian Regions

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Russia's Security Council on Monday that Russia had carried out retaliatory strikes using precision-guided weapons against Ukrainian infrastructure, in response to the crimes committed by Kiev against the Russian civilian infrastructure. Putin condemned the bombing of the Kerch Strait Bridge, also known as the Crimean Bridge, that took place on October 8, saying that such a terror act cannot be left without retaliation.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told Russia's Security Council on Monday that Russia had carried out retaliatory strikes using precision-guided weapons against Ukrainian infrastructure, in response to the crimes committed by Kiev against the Russian civilian infrastructure. Putin condemned the bombing of the Kerch Strait Bridge, also known as the Crimean Bridge, that took place on October 8, saying that such a terror act cannot be left without retaliation.

No one in the world wants nuclear disaster, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi said on Sunday.

Grossi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday to discuss the situation around the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP). The Russian president said he was open to dialogue and also appreciated Grossi's direct communication with Moscow and Kiev.

"Nobody wants nuclear disaster," Grossi told Russian broadcaster Rossiya 1.

Russian troops have destroyed 6,700 units of Ukrainian armored combat vehicles and vehicles equipped with multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) since February 24, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Sunday.

"In total, 323 airplanes, 161 helicopters, 2,247 unmanned aerial vehicles, 380 air defense missile systems, 5,830 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 870 combat vehicles equipped with MLRS, 3,480 field artillery cannons and mortars, as well as 6,595 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed during the special military operation," the ministry said.

Negotiations between Russian and UN representatives on the grain deal have begun in Moscow, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Sunday.

United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Secretary-General Rebeca Grynspan and Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Martin Griffiths have arrived in Moscow and are holding negotiations with Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Vershinin, the Russian Foreign Ministry told Sputnik.

According to UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric, the aim of the visit of the international representatives to Moscow will be the extension and expansion of the grain deal and the promotion of the export of Russian grain and fertilizers.

NATO has de facto intervened in the Ukrainian conflict, but this does not affect Russia's goals in the course of the military operation in Ukraine, since the country's potential allows it to proceed as planned, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Sunday.

"NATO de facto has already got into the Ukrainian conflict. But this in no way affects all of our goals and assumptions, the operation continues, and it will be brought to the end," Peskov told Russian broadcaster Rossiya 1.

Peskov added that NATO’s participation in the conflict makes the situation "significantly harder."

"This probably requires our internal economic and other mobilization. The Kiev regime is one thing, and NATO's potential is another. This is an additional pressure. But our potential allows us to continue the operation under these conditions," Peskov said.

Russian aviation, missile troops and artillery hit three Ukrainian control points during the day and destroyed five ammunition depots, Russian Defense Ministry added.

The situation on Ukraine-Belarus border is complicated, but remains under control, Ukrainian border guard spokesman Andriy Demchenko said on Sunday, adding that there were no changes in the actions of Belarusian units near the border.

"The situation is tense. But speaking about the border — the situation remains under control. We do not record changes in the actions of the Belarusian border military units, neither in the quantitative composition nor in the nature of their actions," Demchenko said.

Intelligence units and security forces of Ukraine are analyzing and monitoring the situation, the spokesman said.

"Our task is to strengthen this direction — attention is paid to the border with Belarus as well as the border with Russia so that all forces that are in this area are ready to fight back," Demchenko said.

Air alert was announced on Sunday in the Ukrainian regions of Poltava, Zaporozhye, and Chernihiv, local authorities said.

"Attention! Air raid — the region! Missile danger!" the head of the Poltava region, Dmytro Lunin, said on Telegram.

The authorities of the Zaporozhye and Chernigov regions also warned about the air alert.

The headquarters of the Donetsk city administration were damaged on Sunday as a result of shelling by Ukrainian troops. According to the city's mayor, Alexey Kulemzin, the building was hit by one of the HIMARS missiles fired at the Voroshilovsky district. Authorities reported that two civilians were injured.

Air raid sirens have gone off in the city of Novaya Kakhovka in the Kherson region, the sounds of over 10 explosions were heard, the city administration said on Sunday.

"In Novaya Kakhovka, the air raid siren sounds again. Air defense is working: over 10 air explosions," the administration said on Telegram.

This is the first attack of Ukrainian troops on the city in a day.

Vladimir Leontyev, the head of the Kakhovka district administration, said that on some days Ukrainian troops fired 120 missiles at the city, including more than 70 precision-guided US-supplied HIMARS missiles.

An air raid alert was declared in Kiev, as well as in several other Ukrainian regions, on Sunday morning, Ukrainian media reported.

The authorities of the Cherkassy, Poltava and Kiev regions, as well as the authorities of the capital city of Kiev have warned residents of the air raid alert, the Strana.ua news website reported.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China is calling on Chinese citizens to leave the territory of Ukraine, the Global Times newspaper reports citing a ministry statement.

The foreign ministry, as well as the Chinese Embassy in Ukraine, urged Chinese citizens on Saturday to leave Ukraine, adding that the embassy could help evacuate people.

Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Mao Ning said on Monday that Beijing hoped for a speedy de-escalation of the situation in Ukraine in light of the strikes targeting Ukrainian infrastructure.