The United Nations general assembly overwhelmingly voted to condemn Russia’s annexation of parts of Ukraine as 35 nations abstained including China, India, South Africa and Pakistan. The resolution “condemns the organisation by Russia of so-called referendums within the internationally recognised borders of Ukraine“.

A Russian nuclear strike would “almost certainly​” trigger a “physical response” from Ukraine’s allies and potentially from NATO, a senior NATO official has said. Any use of nuclear weapons by Moscow would have “unprecedented consequences” for Russia, the official was quoted by Reuters as saying.

Ukraine’s army boasted of territorial gains near the strategically vital southern city of Kherson. Five settlements in the Beryslav district in the north-east of the Kherson region – Novovasylivka, Novogrygorivka, Nova Kamyanka, Tryfonivka, Chervone – were said to have been taken from Russian forces over the day.

External power has been restored to Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, according to the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Rafael Grossi had warned earlier that the loss of off-site power at the facility, Europe’s largest, was “deeply worrying”.

Ukrainians are being reduce their electricity consumption during peak hours to avoid blackouts. Prime minister Denys Shmyhal appealed to citizens and businesses to reduce power consumption from 5pm to 10pm by 25%.

The head of the Russian state-owned gas monopoly supplier, Gazprom, has warned Europe of the consequences of renouncing Russian gas. There is “no guarantee” that Europe would survive winter based on its current gas storage capacity, Alexei Miller said, adding that gas in Germany’s underground storage would be enough for between two- and two-and-a-half months.