The updated news on Day 196 of the assault in the Russia-Ukraine war

The United Nations has urged for a demilitarized zone to be established around Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya nuclear power facility. Secretary General António Guterres asked Russia to withdraw its occupying soldiers and Ukrainian military not to intervene. "A demilitarized boundary should be agreed upon," he stated. 

"This includes, in particular, Russian troops' promise to remove military people and equipment from the region and Ukrainian forces' commitment not to advance in." Before the council meeting, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia (UN) told reporters, "If we demilitarize, the Ukrainians would quickly interfere and wreck the entire thing."

The UN nuclear regulator said in a report submitted to the Security Council on Tuesday that its specialists discovered substantial damage at the plant. 

Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), stated that his team saw the shelling near the plant at close range and confirmed the presence of Russian personnel and military equipment. 

The research also discovered that Ukrainian employees were under continual stress and strain, increasing the possibility of human mistake. "We're playing with fire, and something very, very bad may happen," Grossi explained.

According to a top presidential adviser, a "parallel" counteroffensive is underway in eastern and northern Ukraine, as well as in the south. 

"We are advancing and pushing virtually the whole front line," Oleksiy Arestovych stated late Tuesday night on Telegram. "We may predict a Russian army loss in the Kherson region on the western bank of the Dnieper River and a considerable advance of Ukrainian forces in the east in the next months."

According to top Ukrainian officials, Ukraine's main Western partners have not yet agreed to establish a tribunal to trial Russian President Vladimir Putin and his inner circle for the crime of aggression, citing a desire to allow possibility for future ties with Russia. 

"This is serious politics. On the one hand, nations officially criticize aggression, but on the other, they place their foot in the shutting door of ties with Russia, preventing it from totally closing "Andriy Smyrnov, deputy director of Ukraine's presidential administration, stated as much. "They are attempting to leave some opportunity for diplomatic maneuvering... Contracts with Russia aren't worth the paper they're written on."

The administration of US President Joe Biden has rejected Ukrainian proposals to designate Russia a "state supporter of terrorism," claiming that doing so would have "unintended repercussions" for Ukraine and the rest of the globe. The categorization, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre, would impede humanitarian supplies to Ukraine or prevent relief groups and corporations from engaging in an agreement reached by the UN and Turkey to transfer grain from blockaded Ukrainian ports.

Following a phone call on Tuesday, Biden and newly appointed British Prime Minister Liz Truss promised to work together against Russia and to assist Ukraine in defending itself against Russian aggression. 

According to a Downing Street spokesman, Truss assured Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that he had her full support and that Ukraine could count on Britain's long-term assistance, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believed the two leaders "will be able to build a deep and productive relationship."