"The physical integrity of the Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant has been violated several times”, International Atomic Energy Agency Chief Rafael Grossi said after his visit to the plant. IAEA inspectors arrived in Zaporizhzhia to check the security of the nuclear facility, which has been frequently shelled in recent weeks, raising fears of a nuclear incident. “I worried, I worry and I will continue to be worried about the plant until we have a situation which is more stable, more predictable”, Mariano Grossi said. He said a group of IAEA experts had stayed at the plant and would provide an impartial, neutral and technically sound assessment of the situation.

“Gazprom wants and is ready to meet its responsibilities to sell gas to Europe, but this is being hampered by the actions of the company’s counterparties”, Russia Presidential Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said, TASS agency reports. “Gazprom is willing and ready to continue fulfilling its obligations.  However, in this situation, the European side has imposed legal and technological obstacles that keep Gazprom from working”, Dmitry Peskov pointed out. "This is a crisis scenario. Of course, I would like to appeal to the Gazprom counterparties' common sense, but so far, we can only conclude that they have a severe lack of it," Peskov stressed.

Maritime traffic in the Bosphorus Strait was restored on Friday after the cargo ship Lady Zehma carrying Ukrainian grain had run aground, the Turkish Director General of Coastal Safety said. Meanwhile, the Joint Coordination Center in Istanbul allowed eight ships carrying a total of 158,075 tons of grain and other food products to leave Ukrainian ports on Friday.

French President Emmanuel Macron has defended his continued diplomatic efforts and telephone calls to Russian President Vladimir Putin following the invasion of Ukraine. Speaking to French ambassadors gathered at the Élysée Palace, Macron questioned the western capitals’ decision to lose lines of communication with the Kremlin. “Who wants Turkey to be the only world power that is talking to Russia? We must not give in to any form of mistaken morality that would seek to weaken us”, said Emmanuel Macron.