Russian-backed officials in several parts of Ukraine have announced plans to hold referenda on joining Russia. Ukraine has slammed the upcoming votes as fake attempt to legitimize Russia’s invasion and slammed the prospect of “sham” ballots.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has called on Russian producers of military equipment to up their production and supplies to Russian troops. Putin was also set to give a major speech to the country on Tuesday — only to later postpone it until Wednesday without explanation.

In other news, the U.K. has announced that in 2023 it will meet or exceed the amount of military aid spent on Ukraine this year. Britain’s Prime Minister Liz Truss is expected to announce during a visit to the United Nations in New York this week that leaders “must put an end to Putin’s economic blackmail by removing all energy dependence on Russia,” according to a pre-released statement by the government.

On Monday, Russian troops struck a nuclear power plant in the country’s southern Mykolaiv region, but while its buildings sustained damage, its reactors are functioning normally, Ukrainian state energy officials said.

The war “isn’t going too well” for Russia, U.S. Army Gen. Mark Milley said from Poland, adding that this could make Moscow’s reactions less certain and that U.S. forces in Europe need to maintain alertness.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said developed economies should impose an additional tax on the profits of fossil fuel firms and those funds should be diverted to countries affected by climate change.

“Our world is addicted to fossil fuels, it’s time for an intervention,” Guterres said.

“We need to hold fossil fuel companies and their enablers to account. That includes the banks, private equity, asset managers and other financial institutions that continue to invest and underwrite carbon pollution,” he added.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield met with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on the sidelines of the high-level General Assembly in New York City.

The meeting between Thomas-Greenfield and Kuleba, their second since Russia’s war broke out in late February, comes as the Kremlin attempts to hold referendums in Russian-controlled Ukrainian cities. The move is expected to set the groundwork for Russian troops to annex additional parts of the country.

The White House said the outcome of the votes in Luhansk, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk will likely be manipulated in Russia’s favor and will therefore not be acknowledged.

“The Russians can do whatever they want. It will not change anything,” Kuleba said alongside Thomas-Greenfield.

The organization overseeing the export of agricultural products from Ukraine said it has approved nine more vessels to leave the besieged country.

The Joint Coordination Center, an initiative of Ukraine, Russia, the United Nations and Turkey, said that the vessels are carrying a total of 200,701metric tons of grain and other food products.

The ships are expected to depart on Tuesday and are destined for Germany, Bangladesh, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Turkey.

President Joe Biden has tapped State Department veteran Lynne Tracy as the next American ambassador to Russia.

Tracy, who speaks Russian, currently serves as the U.S. ambassador to Armenia, a neighbor of Russia.

She previously served as the second-highest official at the American embassy in Moscow.

Tracy will replace John Sullivan as head of the embassy there.

Russian President Vladimir Putin failed for unknown reasons to deliver a nationally televised speech that would have been his first since the invasion of Ukraine earlier this year.

Putin has postponed the speech, which was expected to discuss the situation in Ukraine, until Wednesday, according to a Telegram post by Sergei Markov, a former advisor to the Russian leader,

“Go to sleep,” wrote Margarita Simonyan, the editor of RT, a Russian state media outlet, on her own Telegram account.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Ankara is willing to help broker negotiations between Russia and Ukraine in order to restore security to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant.

The facility, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, was forcibly taken by Russian troops in the early days of the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine. Both Moscow and Kyiv have accused each other of shelling and subsequent damage to the facility.

Erdogan said that Turkey’s role in the Black Sea Initiative deal, which helped open three Ukrainian ports for agricultural exports, is an example of how Ankara can help address concerns around Zaporizhzhia.

“As a result of the intensive efforts we carried out together with the Secretary-General [Antonio Guterres], we made sure that the Ukrainian grain was able to reach the world through the Black Sea,” Erdogan said before the international forum.

“A similar approach can also be displayed regarding the crisis at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Station, which concerns the safety of the entire humanity,” he said, without providing additional details.