Zelenksy/Erdogan Meeting Underway As Tensions Increase At Zaporizhzhia

A meeting between Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelensky and Turkish President Recep Erdogan is underway in the Western Ukrainian city of Lviv.

• Today's meeting is the first face-to-face meeting between Erdogan and Zelensky since the war began and comes after two meetings between Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin in recent weeks.
• Zelensky and Erdogan will have a trilateral meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres later today with two two primary objectives: Firstly to find a solution to a potential nuclear crisis at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant and secondly to ensure the continued operation of secure grain corridors in the Black Sea.
• This month, Ukraine has exported 948,000 metric tons of grain via the Black Sea, approximately half achieved this time last year but a signal that the grain agreement is taking effect. A five-ship convoy arrived in Chornomorsk yesterday, the largest so far.
• After a separate meeting with Guterres earlier today, Zelensky wrote on Telegram that his government has agreed to continue the coordination of grain corridors and called on the UN to ensure the "complete liberation" and "demilitarisation" of Zaporizhzhia from Russian troops.
• Zelensky on Zaporizhzhia: "This deliberate terror on the part of the aggressor can have global catastrophic consequences for the whole world."
• Ahead of the meetings, the Russian Defence Ministry threatened to shut down Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant if Ukrainian shelling continued and accused Ukraine of planning a "provocation" at the nuclear power plant.