United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters he has a feeling "we are still far away from peace," he said at a press conference Wednesday after speaking with Russian President Vladimir Putin over the phone.

The two discussed the initiative to export grain from Ukraine, the export of Russian food, the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant and other things relevant to the current situation, according to Guterres.

According to the Kremlin, both sides emphasized the importance of ensuring, as a matter of priority, the need for food in African, Middle Eastern and Latin American countries.

Both sides agreed to further work on the Russia-U.N. line at various levels, according to the Kremlin.

-ABC News' Jason Volack

Photos show Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on a visit to newly freed Ukrainian territories in the east.

Hand on heart, Zelenskyy watched Ukraine's flag rise above the recaptured city of Izium. Zelensky looked on and sang the national anthem.

"The view is very shocking, but it is not shocking for me," Zelenskyy told journalists while standing on a pile of rubble. "We began to see the same pictures from Bucha, from the first de-occupied territories, the same destroyed buildings, killed people."

The Ukrainian Armed forces said Tuesday that it liberated more than 300 settlements, freeing around 150,000 people in recent days.

Ukrainian engineers have made further progress in repairing vital power infrastructure in the vicinity of the Zaporizhzhya nuclear power plant, the International Atomic Energy Agency said it was informed Tuesday.

The engineers are providing the plant with renewed access to a third back-up power line. This means all three back-up power lines to the power plant have been restored, according to the IAEA.

But, IAEA Director General Rafael Mariano still warned that safety at the plant remains precarious as it is under the control of Russian forces, but operated by a Ukrainian staff.

While there has been no shelling at or near Zaporizhzhya in recent days, it was still occurring in the wider area, Mariano said.

Zaporizhzhya's four main external power lines are all down and it is not currently providing electricity to households, factories and others.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

The Ukrainian Armed Forces said Tuesday that it liberated more than 300 settlements in Kharkiv Oblast.

Ukrainian soldiers have de-occupied 3,800 square kilometers since Sept. 6, according to Deputy Ukrainian Defense Minister Hanna Malyar.

According to Malyar, the Russian forces deprived local residents of any communication. They allegedly told residents Ukraine no longer exists, that the country already had a different president, and that Ukraine will not come for them.

Roughly 150,000 people have been freed from Russian control in recent days, according to Malyar.

About 1.1 to 1.2 million people are still living in areas occupied by Russian forces. Of those people, 300,000 are in Donetsk, 500,000 are in Kherson, and 350,000 are in Zaporizhzhia oblast, according to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk.

-ABC News' Will Gretsky

Ukraine's Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plane lost its last external power source due to renewed shelling, the International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi said in a statement Saturday.

The plant is now relying on emergency diesel generators for the electricity it needs for reactor cooling and other essential nuclear safety and security functions, according to Grossi.

The plant's connection to the power line was cut at around 1 a.m. local time. Sixteen of the plant’s diesel generators started operating automatically, providing its six reactors with power. After the situation stabilized, 10 of the generators were switched off, according to Grossi.

"The resumption of shelling, hitting the plant’s sole source of external power, is tremendously irresponsible. The Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant must be protected," Director General Grossi said. "I will soon travel to the Russian Federation, and then return to Ukraine, to agree on a nuclear safety and security protection zone around the plant. This is an absolute and urgent imperative."