Erdogan warns of 'another Chernobyl' after talks in Ukraine

Russian forces initially tried to capture Kharkiv early in their assault on Ukraine but were pushed back

Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned Thursday of a nuclear disaster in Ukraine during his first face-to-face talks with President Volodymyr Zelensky since Russia's invasion began, echoing pleas from the UN's chief.

A flare-up in fighting around Europe's largest nuclear facility in Russian-controlled southern Ukraine has sparked urgent warnings from world leaders, and UN chief Antonio Guterres cautioned during talks with Erdogan that any damage to the plant would be akin to "suicide".

"While continuing our efforts to find a solution, we remain on the side of our Ukraine friends," Erdogan said.

Erdogan, who has major geopolitical rivalries with the Kremlin but maintains a close working relationship with President Vladimir Putin, met with the Russian leader less than two weeks ago in the Black Sea resort of Sochi.

Ahead of the press conference with Zelensky, Ukraine's port authority announced that the 25th cargo ship under the deal had departed for Egypt carrying 33,000 tonnes of grain.

Guterres said during the meeting with reporters that the sides hoped to intensify efforts to bolster operations at three southern ports designated to handle exports under the deal.

Guterres continued his visit on Friday with a trip to Odessa, one of the ports involved, and was expected to later head to Turkey to visit the body tasked with overseeing the exports accord.

The success of the grain deal contrasts with failed peace talks early in the war, and Zelensky on Thursday ruled out peace with Russia unless it withdrew its troops from Ukraine.

Fighting raged along the front on Thursday and early Friday.

Early-morning shelling on Friday also targeted the city of Nikopol, according to a local military official, while the mayor of Mykolayiv reported "massive explosions" there around the same time.

The blaze came amid a slew of blasts at Russian military installations near Ukraine, one of which Moscow has acknowledged to be an act of "sabotage".

Fighting in recent weeks has focused around the southern region of Zaporizhzhia and the nuclear facility there, and Zelensky called on the UN to ensure security at the plant after direct talks with Guterres, while also blaming Russia for "deliberate" attacks on the facility.

Moscow dismissed Ukrainian allegations Thursday, saying its forces had not deployed heavy weapons at Zaporizhzhia and accusing Kyiv of preparing a "provocation" there that would see Russia "accused of creating a man-made disaster at the plant".

Ukrainian military intelligence said in a Facebook post on Thursday night that it had received reports that all but a "small part of operational personnel" at the plant had been ordered to stay home on Friday, while representatives of Russia's state nuclear operator "actually left the territory" of the facility.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has said Russia's seizure of the plant "poses a serious threat", and has called for a Russian withdrawal and inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog.

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