Facts about Russia-Ukraine conflict: Ukraine dispatches biggest convoy of grain ships to foreign markets

BEIJING, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments in the Ukraine crisis:

The Ukrainian Infrastructure Ministry said on Sunday that it has dispatched its largest convoy of grain ships so far since the beginning of the implementation of the UN-brokered "grain initiative."

A total of 12 ships set sail from the ports of Odessa, Chornomorsk and Pivdennyi on Sunday, carrying 282,500 tons of agricultural products to eight countries, the ministry said on Facebook.

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The Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday that the Ukrainian armed forces used eight drones with suspended ammunition on Saturday to strike the territory where the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant is located.

Despite the presence of representatives of the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA, the Kiev authorities "continued provocations in order to create a threat of a man-made disaster," the ministry said in a daily report.

The radiation situation in the area of the Zaporizhzhia plant remains normal, it added.

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday that he had a phone conversation with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, and the two sides talked about urgent aid to Ukraine and sanctions against Russia.

"We discussed the allocation of the next tranche of the EU macro-finance as soon as possible," Zelensky tweeted, adding that the two sides emphasized the need to prepare more sanctions on Russia, including a ban on issuing visas to Russian citizens.

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Moscow will take serious retaliatory measures if the EU formally introduces visa restrictions on Russian citizens, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Sunday.

Russia is closely monitoring the EU decision and the retaliation, symmetrical or not, will definitely meet Russia's interests, Peskov told a local TV program without disclosing what the retaliatory steps could be.