The United States on Thursday warned Russia against diverting energy from a nuclear plant Kyiv says was cut off from its grid, as calls for an independent inspection of the facility mount.
Ukraine's Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant is under occupation by Moscow's troops and was disconnected from the national power supply on Thursday, the state energy operator said.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre urged Russia to agree to a demilitarised zone around the plant and "allow the IAEA to visit as soon as possible to check on the safety".
The US cautioned Russia against redirecting energy from the site.
"The electricity that it produces rightly belongs to Ukraine and any attempt to disconnect the plant from the Ukrainian power grid and redirect to occupied areas is unacceptable," State Department spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.
"No country should turn a nuclear power plant into an active war zone and we oppose any Russian efforts to weaponise or divert energy from the plant."
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A concrete obelisk topped by Soviet stars that was the centerpiece of a monument commemorating the Red Army's victory over Nazi Germany was torn down on Thursday in Latvia's capital - the latest in a series of Soviet monuments brought down after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Heavy machinery was spotted behind a green privacy fence at the foot of the 260ft obelisk shortly before it was pulled down. The column, which had stood like a high-rise in downtown Riga, crashed into a nearby pond, causing a huge splash at Victory Park.
A Latvian media outlet broadcast the event live as onlookers, some with Latvian flags wrapped around their shoulders, cheered and applauded.
The obelisk, made up of five spires with three Soviet stars at the top, stood between two groups of statues - a band of three Red Army soldiers and on the other side a woman representing the "Motherland" with her arms held high.
The monument was built in 1985 while Latvia was still part of the Soviet Union. It has stirred controversy since Latvia regained independence in 1991 and eventually became a Nato and European Union member.
On Twitter, Latvia's foreign minister said by taking down the monument, Latvia was "closing another painful page of the history and looking for better future".
Russia's invasion of Ukraine in late February has prompted authorities in several eastern European countries to remove symbols from their communist eras.
Volodymyr Zelensky said the world narrowly avoided a radiation disaster on Thursday as the last regular line supplying electricity to Ukraine's Russian-held Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant was restored hours after being cut.
President Zelensky blamed shelling by Russia's military for fires in the ash pits of a nearby coal power station that disconnected the reactor complex, Europe's largest such facility, from the power grid.
He said back-up diesel generators ensured power supply and keep the plant safe.
"If our station staff had not reacted after the blackout, then we would have already been forced to overcome the consequences of a radiation accident," he said in an evening address.
"Russia has put Ukraine and all Europeans in a situation one step away from a radiation disaster."
International Atomic Energy Agency officials should be given access to the site within days, he said, "before the occupiers take the situation to the point of no return".
Parts of southern Ukraine were left without power on Thursday after a fire near Europe's largest nuclear power plant forced its reactors offline.
The Russian-controlled power plant was disconnected from the Ukrainian grid when blazes in the ash pits of a neighbouring coal-fired power plant twice severed transmission lines, its operator said on Thursday afternoon.
The fire was caused by shelling, industry sources told The Telegraph. Ukraine blamed the "actions of the invaders" for the cut.
An engineer at the plant told The Telegraph this week that he believes Russia wants to cut the plant off from the Ukrainian power system.
Read more: Power out in southern Ukraine after shelling cuts Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant from grid
Swathes of southern Ukraine were left without power after a fire near Europe's largest nuclear power plant forced its reactors offline, raising fears Russia was moving to cut off the country's electricity
Russian military high command has been accused of making a "mockery" of troops fighting in Ukraine by lavishing valuable resources on an Olympics Games-style competition including tank racing and field cookery
Vladimir Putin ordered the Russian army to recruit an extra 137,000 soldiers to boost it to more than 1.15 million - roughly 15 times larger than the British Army
Russian forces have lost an area of captured territory larger than Denmark as they struggle to turn territorial gains into operation successes, according to military analysts
Russian security forces are torturing personnel at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant to prevent them from telling UN inspectors about safety risks, workers there have told The Telegraph
French oil giant TotalEnergies has been accused of helping to fuel Russian fighter jets that have bombed Ukrainian civilians, including the victims of the Mariupol theatre airstrike, in an NGO and French media investigation