The possibilities of exporting electricity from Ukraine to the European Union and reducing the dependence of European countries on Russian energy carriers are being discussed against the backdrop of the energy crisis in Europe. Increasing electricity exports to 2,000 MW would allow Ukraine to integrate into the EU's internal market, Ukraine’s Premier Denys Schmyhal wrote on Facebook after the EU-Ukraine Association Council in Brussels. Shmyhal said that he’s confident Ukraine can meet these requirements by the year’s end and is hopeful of starting official membership talks early next year. The Commission and Ukraine have signed a new EUR 500 million budget support programme as part of the pledges announced by President von Der Leyen in the “Stand up for Ukraine” campaign in April and High Level International Donors’ Conference in May in Warsaw.

Meanwhile, Russian forces continue to make efforts to establish full control over the territory of Donetsk oblast, maintaining their positions in the temporarily occupied areas of Kherson and parts of Kharkiv, Zaporizhia and Mykolaiv regions. Ukrainian military units continue to conduct a defense operation to prevent the Russian troops from advancing deep into Ukraine, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.

The Russian occupation authorities in Ukraine's southern city of Kherson have postponed a so-called referendum on joining Russia, on security grounds.

"This is being paused because of the security situation," said Kirill Stremousov, deputy head of the Russian-appointed administration there.

Four International Atomic Energy Agency experts left the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant as planned after several days of essential nuclear safety, security and safeguards work. Two others are staying to maintain a continuing IAEA presence at the site, enabling the Agency to observe the situation there and provide independent assessments. Meanwhile, Kyiv and Moscow continue to trade blame for the shelling of Zaporizhzhia NPP.