The 186th day of the conflict in Ukraine continued to be marked by tensions around Zaporizhia, where several attacks were reported and 15 houses were destroyed, leading the Ukrainian government to accuse Russia of transforming the nuclear plant into a “military base”. Meanwhile, the European Union is preparing to take a further step in sanctions against Russia, suspending the 2007 agreement that makes it easier to issue visas for Russian citizens to enter European countries.

Read the main events in our live blog about the war in Ukraine

What happened during the night?

• Zelensky promised a response to the “terrorists” and said that the country “has not forgotten and will not forget any” of the cities that are occupied by the Russians in Donetsk and Donbass.
• The Russian attack on Nikopol, in Dnipropetrovsk, left one dead and two wounded, according to official figures shared this Sunday.
• Dell announced that it has ended all activities in the Russian market, after closing its offices in the country in mid-August. The company, which is one of the main providers of servers to Russia, has joined the group of companies that have already ceased operations in the country due to the invasion of Ukraine.
• The Ukrainian Juvenile Prosecutor’s Office denounced that at least 379 children were killed and around 733 were injured in the attacks carried out by Russia since the beginning of the invasion of Ukraine at the end of February.
• Explosions were heard in agricultural infrastructure in the Svatove region. This region of Ukraine is occupied by Russian forces.
• Reports emerged that a Russian missile had hit a military infrastructure in Rivne, in northern Ukraine. According to Euromaidan Press, there are currently no reports of deaths.
• The Russian Defense Ministry and the Ukrainian state energy operator Energoatom confirmed the total normality in radiation levels of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
• Ukraine has recover 541 bodies of soldiers, according to information shared by Ukraine’s Information Security and Communications Strategy Center on Sunday. In a publication made through Facebook, this entity indicates that the bodies were returned by Russian forces after a statement mediated by the Red Cross.

What happened during the afternoon?

• Zelensky met with representatives of the defense and security sectors. The website of the Presidency of Ukraine indicated that Zelensky met this Sunday with representatives of these sectors, with a meeting focused on the developments on the front.
• The Turkish Defense Ministry shared that six more ships left the port of Odessa, Ukraine. These ships have grain on board, the Kyiv Independent reported. Some 30 ships have left Odessa port since August 1, after Russia and Ukraine signed agreements brokered by the United Nations and Turkey to unblock grain exports.
• The United States has denounced what it describes as “cynical obstruction” of Russia that “only” prevented the adoption of a joint declaration at the UN on the treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT).

What happened during the morning and early afternoon?

• The European Union is preparing to suspend its visa agreement with Russia, in order to send a signal to Russian tourists that “this war is not acceptable”. According to the Financial Times, the idea is freeze the deal which has been in place since 2007 to make it more difficult for Russia to travel to the European Union this week, making the process more costly and time-consuming.
• Overnight, the villages of Nikopol and Marhanets, close to the Zaporizhia NPP, were shelled, according to information provided by Nikopol Mayor Yevhen Yevtushenko on Telegram. The Kyiv Independent said that two people were injured in a Russian attack in Zaporizhia. According to acting mayor Anatolii Kurtiev, five houses were damaged following the attack.
• However, the Ukrainian national police went so far as to assure that this figure reached, in total, the fifteen houses destroyed. Rocket fragments damaged houses.
• Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, accused the “Russian invaders” of “endangering the entire continent” by occupying the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant, which he claims to have turned into a “military base”and urged Russia to withdraw its troops.
• Russia wants to strengthen its Armed Forces, as shown by a presidential decree signed on August 25, which provides for a increase of 140 thousand soldiers in the Russian troops. The problem, says the analysis of the British Ministry of Defense, is that with the current laws it is difficult to hire such a large number of new soldiers, so it is “unlikely” that the measure will translate into “substantial advances” for the Russian forces on the ground. Furthermore, this report calculates, Russia will already have lost “tens of thousands” of fighters

(Updated at 23:49 with more information)

EU prepares to suspend agreement that facilitates visas for Russian citizens