Moscow denied that Russian President Vladimir Putin had received any draft peace agreement with Ukraine, while US senators called on President Joseph Biden's administration to enable Kyiv to wage "long-term resistance."

The Russian RIA Novosti news agency quoted a Kremlin spokesman as denying that the Russian president had received any draft peace agreement with Ukraine.

On the other hand, Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, said that peace negotiations could begin when Russia left the occupied Ukrainian lands, as he described it.

Podolyak said in statements to the island that only his country is talking about real peace negotiations.

He said that Russia must enter the peace talks in order to mitigate the effects of the loss, and not to be mired in major internal problems, as he put it.

Significant damage in Zaporizhia

The team of experts of the International Atomic Energy Agency announced the registration of significant damage to the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine.

The team explained that the plant's reactors are currently stable, and that it is in the process of investigating levels of fuel and radioactive materials.

The agency's team of experts had begun an assessment of the situation at the station, hours after it was bombed, and the Russians and Ukrainians exchanged accusations about it.


For its part, the Russian presidency said in a statement that the failure of the International Atomic Energy Agency to have the authority to disclose the party responsible for the bombing of the Zaporizhia nuclear plant is a matter of regret.

The statement added that Ukraine must be demanded to withdraw its heavy weapons from the vicinity of the Zaporizhia station and stop the bombing.

The Kremlin indicated that Moscow considers the statement of the International Atomic Energy Agency regarding the threat to bomb the Zaporizhia nuclear plant as a positive position.

The Russian Defense Ministry accused the Ukrainian forces of continuing what it described as provocations to create a nuclear disaster at the Zaporizhia plant.

Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said that on Monday, the Ukrainian army fired 8 shells at the station.

Reactor protection

In turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called on Russia to stop bombing the Zaporizhia plant, and called on NATO to ensure the protection of Ukrainian nuclear reactors from any Russian sabotage, as he put it.

For its part, the company operating power plants in Ukraine said that Russian forces had destroyed all large thermal and hydroelectric power plants in the country.

She added that there are no thermal stations or others except that they have suffered massive damage as a result of the Russian raids.

The company indicated that the energy situation in the country will stabilize if Russia does not launch more attacks, explaining that the country will witness a short cold wave starting tomorrow, Wednesday, followed by a rise in temperature.


Human losses

In Kherson, the Ukrainian military said two civilians were killed and seven wounded in Russian bombing.

The Ukrainian army called on the residents of the city of Kherson to stay in shelters due to the continued Russian bombardment of the city, noting that its forces are striking gatherings of Russian forces on the other bank of the Dnipro River.

As for the regional defense center of the pro-Russian separatist forces in Donetsk, it announced that two civilians were killed and 3 others were wounded in the bombing of their areas by Ukrainian forces during the past 24 hours.

The center stated that the Ukrainian forces bombed the Russian-controlled areas in Donetsk 65 times yesterday, Monday, and today.

financial support

In a parallel context, members of the US Senate urged President Joe Biden's administration to reconsider its decision not to grant Ukraine advanced drones, and The Wall Street Journal reported the content of a letter they sent to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin asking for clarification. On the reason for not exporting these planes to Ukraine, saying that they help Kyiv to attack Russian ships in the Black Sea and break the blockade on the Ukrainian economy.


And US lawmakers stressed that enabling Ukraine to fight a long-term resistance is urgent, saying that Putin's intention to invade all of Ukraine has not changed, as they put it.

For her part, US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said on Tuesday that $4.5 billion in economic aid will be disbursed to Ukraine in the coming weeks.

Yellen added in a statement that the money approved last September under the temporary government financing bill aims to "promote economic stability and support essential government services."

She said other donors should step up and speed up their assistance to Ukraine as it faces a "Russian invasion," as she put it.

In the same context, the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, announced that Ukraine would be granted additional funding of two billion and 500 million dollars.

She added that the European Union plans to support Ukraine with $18 billion next year, provided that funding is regularly spent on urgent reforms, pointing out that the Union will continue to support Ukraine whatever the need.

For its part, The Wall Street Journal said that the Group of Seven and the European Union are considering setting a ceiling for the price of Russian oil at $60 a barrel.

The White House said a cap on Russian oil would undermine Putin's ability to fund the war in Ukraine.