First grain shipment leaves Ukraine as southern city pounded

The Ukrainian town of Bakhut was heavily bombarded by Russia

A damaged building in Kharkiv

The first shipment of Ukrainian grain left the port of Odessa on Monday morning, Turkey announced, as Kyiv said the "brutal" shelling by Moscow of the southern city Mykolaiv had killed an agriculture tycoon.

The blockage of deliveries from warring Russia and Ukraine -- two of the world's biggest grain exporters -- has contributed to soaring food prices, hitting the world's poorest nations especially hard.

"The ship Razoni has left the port of Odessa bound for Tripoli in Lebanon," the Turkish ministry said in a statement. 

Other convoys would follow, respecting the maritime corridor and the agreed formalities, it said.

- Tycoon killed -

AFP journalists witnessed intense Russian bombardment of the eastern town of Bakhmut after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for civilians to leave the frontline Donetsk region bearing the brunt of the Kremlin's offensive.

"Today, one of the most brutal shellings of Mykolaiv and the region over the entire period of the full-scale war took place. Dozens of missiles and rockets," Zelensky said in an address.

Ukrainian agricultural magnate Oleksiy Vadatursky, 74, and his wife Raisa were killed when a missile struck their house, authorities said.

Zelensky offered condolences and paid tribute to Vadatursky in his Sunday address.

- Drone attack -

The local mayor blamed "Ukrainian nationalists" for the attack that forced the cancellation of festivities marking Russia's annual holiday celebrating the navy.

The claim and counterclaim came as the dispute over which side struck a jail holding Ukrainian prisoners of war in Kremlin-controlled Olenivka rumbled on. 

But the ICRC said Sunday it had yet to receive approval to enter the site.

Ukraine says Russia was behind the attack, with Zelensky accusing Moscow of the "deliberate mass murder of Ukrainian prisoners of war".

AFP journalists on Sunday saw one wounded man collected by an ambulance after a ferocious bombardment of the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.

He urged people to leave the besieged region, echoing calls from the authorities in recent weeks to evacuate.

Official Ukrainian estimates put the number of civilians still living in the unoccupied area of Donetsk at between 200,000 and 220,000.

Kateryna Novakivska, a deputy commander of a Ukrainian unit, said she was fighting so her comrades could be reunited with their families.

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Originally published as First grain shipment leaves Ukraine as southern city pounded