Russia-Ukraine war – live: US warns of ‘dangerous game’ at nuclear plant as France breaks off Kremlin contact

The US warned against Russia’s “dangerous game” after the reactor building at the occupied Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in eastern Ukraine was damaged in a “kamikaze” drone attack.

“You have heard from us before our belief that Russia is playing a very dangerous game with its military seizure of Ukraine’s nuclear power plant, which is the largest in Europe,” State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said.

Mr Miller repeated America’s call on Russia to end the occupation of Europe’s largest nuclear facility which is facing heavy crossfiring amid the Russian invasion.

French foreign minister Stéphane Séjourné has said that it was no longer “in Paris’s interest” to hold discussions with the Russian government as Moscow manipulates the content and coverage of their bilateral talks.

This has now brought the “long tradition of cooperation with Russia in the fight against terrorism” to a grinding halt, the minister said.

On the war front, the Ukrainian Air Force said it downed and destroyed all 20 Russian drones fired overnight over several cities.