TOP HEADLINES

• China's President Xi Jinping called on the international community to bring a resolution to the conflict through political means and dialogue, in a meeting with France's Emmanuel Macron and the European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen.

• Macron told Xi he was counting on him to "bring Russia to its senses" over its offensive in Ukraine. 

• Russia's FSB security service said it detained a pilot of a Ukrainian light aircraft that crashed in the southern Bryansk region, which borders Ukraine, Russian state media said. 

• Russian President Vladimir Putin told the new envoy for the European Union that the bloc instigated a "geopolitical confrontation" with Moscow while accepting credentials from ambassadors in the Kremlin. 

• President Putin accused Western security services of having helped Kyiv stage "terror attacks" in Russia, after giving an icy welcome to the new U.S. and EU ambassadors.

• UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi met with Russian officials in Kaliningrad for talks to ensure the safety of the Moscow-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. "I met high level officials from several Russian agencies in Kaliningrad," Grossi said on Twitter. "I continue my efforts to protect the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," he said, adding that this was "in everyone's interest." READ MORE BELOW

• President Andrzej Duda said Poland was prepared to send all its MiG-29 fighter jets to Ukraine "in the future," having already pledged 14 Soviet-made planes to Kyiv. Duda said the move, however, would require a green light from NATO allies as the remaining fighter jets in Poland's possession had been "adapted to NATO standards."

• President Duda said Warsaw will seek additional security guarantees for Kyiv at a NATO summit in July as he hosted Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. "Today we are trying to get for Ukraine... additional guarantees, security guarantees, which will strengthen Ukraine's military potential," Duda told reporters following talks with Zelensky, adding that Poland supports full NATO membership for Ukraine. 

IN DETAIL

UN nuclear chief warns against nuclear plant 'catastrophe'

UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi met with Russian officials in Kaliningrad for talks to ensure the safety of the Moscow-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. His trip to the Russian exclave, which is wedged between Poland and Lithuania, came a week after he visited the embattled plant, where he said he was working on a safety plan that would suit both Kyiv and Moscow.  

The Russian forces took control of the six-reactor plant in southern Ukraine in March last year, days after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops across the border. There have been persistent fears over the safety of the plant, which is Europe's largest atomic power station. 

"I met high level officials from several Russian agencies in Kaliningrad," Grossi said on Twitter. "I continue my efforts to protect the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant," he said, adding that this was "in everyone's interest."

He did not provide further details. 

The head of Russia's nuclear agency Rosatom, Alexei Likhachev, was among the officials Grossi met. Likhachev had informed Grossi of "the steps that are being taken by the Russian side to ensure the safe operation" of the plant, Rosatom said in a statement. 

The statement added that the Russian side was "ready to work on" initiatives put forward by Grossi. On a visit to the plant last week, Grossi said he was "trying to prepare and propose realistic measures that will be approved by all parties."

"We must avoid catastrophe," he warned and expressed hope that Russia and Ukraine would agree on safety principles.  

Kyiv and Moscow have accused each other of shelling the plant, increasing fears of a disaster. 

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