Russian strikes near Ukraine nuclear plant kill 14

US Defense Secretary says Russia has committed its most capable forces to Ukraine

Ukraine on Wednesday accused Russia of carrying out rocket strikes that killed 14 civilians in areas near a nuclear power plant, as the G7 warned that Russian control of the facility "endangers the region".

Overnight strikes in the Dnipropetrovsk region in central Ukraine killed 13 people and injured 11, with five reported to be in a serious condition, regional governor Valentin Reznichenko wrote on Telegram.

"It was a terrible night," Reznichenko said, urging residents to shelter when they hear air raid sirens.

Another woman died after Russian missiles slammed into a village in the Zaporizhzhia region on Wednesday morning, local governor Oleksandr Starukh wrote on Telegram.

- G7 call over nuclear plant -

Ukraine says Russia has stationed hundreds of troops and stored ammunition at the facility since taking it over on March 4, shortly after starting its invasion.

The Group of Seven industrialised nations condemned Russia's occupation and called on Moscow to immediately hand back full control of the plant.

The UN Security Council will hold an emergency meeting Thursday to address the crisis at the nuclear plant, diplomatic sources said.

The strikes came a day after major blasts at the Saki airfield, a key military base on the Russian-annexed Crimea peninsula.

- 'There is a lot of shooting' -

Strikes on the city of Bakhmut killed at least six people and injured three others, regional governor Pavlo Kyrylenko said on Telegram, adding that 12 residential buildings were damaged.

The echoes of cluster bombs and artillery bounced off apartment buildings with their windows shattered, while roads were cratered and shops boarded up or destroyed.

Some of those who remain now live underground in cellars ill-suited as bomb shelters.

"I just want to leave to grow old in a normal way, die a normal death, not be killed by a missile."

The war has severely hampered grain supply from Ukraine, leading to an international food crisis as it is one of the world's biggest producers.

The first exports of wheat should start next week under the agreement, top UN official Frederick Kenney said on Wednesday.

But the Ukrainian embassy said a new buyer for the shipment was being sought after the original Lebanese buyer cancelled the order.

Spain on Wednesday launched a pilot project to import Ukrainian grain by train to avoid blocked maritime routes, with a freight train leaving Madrid for the Polish town of Chelm late on Tuesday.

EU countries have started putting into place different measures to save energy, with air conditioning curbs coming into force in Spain on Wednesday and Vienna dimming street lighting.

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