Ukraine's nuclear energy operator said Monday a Russian missile struck near a nuclear power plant in southern Ukraine.
Energoatom said in a statement the missile landed 300 meters from the Pivdennoukrainsk Nuclear Power Plant but did not damage its reactors.
The strike did damage nearby buildings, Energoatom said.
"Russia endangers the whole world," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Telegram in response to the missile strike. "We have to stop it before it's too late."
The Pivdennoukrainsk plant is Ukraine's second-largest nuclear power plant. The largest, the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, has been shut down since early September following shelling that Russia and Ukraine have blamed on each other.
Also Monday, a senior U.S. defense official said the Wagner Group, a paramilitary company run by Russian oligarch Yevgeny Prigozhin, is trying to recruit 1,500 convicted felons to take part in Russia's war in Ukraine. The defense official added, however, that many are refusing to join.
"Our information indicates that Wagner has been suffering high losses in Ukraine, especially and unsurprisingly among young and inexperienced fighters," the U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told reporters at a briefing.
The European Union has imposed sanctions on the Wagner Group, accusing it of clandestine operations on the Kremlin's behalf, Reuters reported.
President Vladimir Putin has said the group does not represent the Russian state.
On Sunday, Zelenskyy said during his nightly video address that there would be no letup in the effort by his country's military to retake territory from Russian forces.
Zelenskyy's message came after gains by Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv region in northeastern Ukraine during a counteroffensive this month.
"Maybe now it seems to some of you that after a series of victories we have a certain lull," Zelenskyy said. "But this is not a lull. This is preparation for the next series ... because Ukraine must be free — all of it."
U.S. President Joe Biden said in an interview with CBS News broadcast Sunday night that Ukraine, with the aid of the United States and other allies, as well as "the incredible bravery and the incredible determination of the Ukrainian people," is not losing the war.
Biden said winning the war means getting Russia "out of Ukraine completely" and recognizing Ukraine's sovereignty.
Asked about the military and humanitarian aid the United States has committed to Ukraine, Biden said the U.S. will continue to support Ukraine "as long as it takes."
Mass graves
Monday Russia rejected Ukraine's accusations that Russian soldiers had committed war crimes in the Kharkiv region.
"It's a lie, and of course we will defend the truth in this story," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.
Ukrainian officials said last week 440 bodies were discovered in woodlands near Izium, with most of the dead identified as civilians. Ukraine said the discovery proved war crimes had been committed by Russian forces.
Zelenskyy said Saturday that investigators had discovered new evidence of torture inflicted against some of the soldiers buried in Izium, one of more than 20 towns that Ukraine recaptured in the Kharkiv region that Russia had held for months. He said 17 bodies were found at one site, some of which bore signs of torture.
VOA Pentagon correspondent Carla Babb contributed to this report. Some information for this story came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
