Explosions erupted overnight near military bases deep in Russian-held areas of Ukraine and Russia itself, an apparent display of Kyiv’s rapidly growing ability to wreak havoc on Moscow’s logistics far from front lines.

Russia’s war on Ukraine has reached a ‘strategic deadlock’ a senior presidential adviser said yesterday as strikes battered the northeast Ukrainian region of Kharkiv.

Russia’s Black Sea fleet based in annexed Crimea has installed a new commander, RIA news agency cited sources as saying yesterday, after Russian military bases on the peninsula were rocked by explosions in the past nine days.

Ukrainian forces reported heavy Russian shelling and attempts to advance on several towns in the eastern region of Donetsk that has become a key focus of the near six-month war, but said they had repelled many of the attacks.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has warned Russian soldiers who shoot at Europe’s largest nuclear power station or use it as a base to shoot from that they will become a “special target” for Ukrainian forces.

Any possible seizure of Russian assets by the United States will completely destroy Moscow’s bilateral relations with Washington, TASS quoted the head of the North American Department at the Russian foreign ministry as saying yesterday.

Ukraine and Russia yesterday accused each other of risking nuclear disaster by shelling Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, occupied by Russian forces in a region expected to become one of the next big front lines of the war.

Russia and Ukraine accused each other of shelling Europe's biggest nuclear power plant as the U.N. chief proposed a demilitarised zone at the site amid fears of a catastrophe.

Russia is attacking scores of civilian and military targets in its bid to establish full control over the east Ukraine regions of Luhansk and Donetsk, with 120 rockets hitting the area around the town of Nikopol overnight, Ukrainian officials said yesterday.

Ukraine yesterday accused Russia of exploiting its position in a nuclear power plant it had seized to target a nearby town in a rocket attack that killed at least 13 people and left many others seriously wounded.

China, which Russia has sought as an ally since being cold-shouldered by the West over its invasion of Ukraine, has called the United States the "main instigator" of the crisis.

Ukraine's president called on the West to impose a blanket travel ban on Russians, an idea that has found support among some EU member states but angered Moscow which pressed on with a fierce military offensive in eastern Ukraine.

The Kremlin yesterday accused Ukrainian forces of firing on the Zaporizhzhia atomic power plant, warning against potential “catastrophic consequences” for Europe.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called on Monday for international inspectors to be given access to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant after Ukraine and Russia traded accusations over the shelling of Europe's largest atomic plant at the weekend.

Amnesty International yesterday apologised for “distress and anger” caused by a report accusing Ukraine of endangering civilians which infuriated President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and triggered the resignation of its Kviy office head.

Kyiv and Moscow yesterday accused each other of striking Europe’s largest nuclear site, causing a reactor stoppage as three grain ships departed Ukraine under a deal to avert food shortages.

Three grain ships left Ukrainian ports yesterday while the first inbound cargo vessel since Russia’s invasion was due in Ukraine later in the day to load, as Kyiv called for the safe passage deal to be extended to other cargoes such as metals.

Three ships carrying a total of 58,041 tonnes of corn have been authorised to leave Ukrainian ports on Friday as part of a deal to unblock grain exports, as a Russian offensive forced Ukraine to cede territory in the east.

The war in Ukraine is the most dangerous moment for Europe since World War Two, and Russia must not be allowed to win, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday, as Kyiv had been forced to cede some territory in the east in the face of a Russian offensive.

The first shipment of grain from Ukraine since the Kremlin’s invasion five months ago passed inspection and sailed through Istanbul yesterday under a landmark deal designed to help alleviate a global food crisis sparked by the war.