* Europe's biggest nuclear power plant, the Zaporizhzhia facility in Ukraine, was on fire after a Russian attack, the mayor of a nearby town said.

* Firefighters could not battle the blaze because they were being fired upon by Russian troops, according to the Ukrainian atomic energy ministry.

* Russia and Ukraine agreed on the need for humanitarian corridors and a possible ceasefire around them for fleeing civilians, their first sign of agreement on any issue since the war began eight days ago.

* More than one million refugees have fled Ukraine in just seven days, the United Nations said.

* 'Russian President Vladimir Putin says: "I want to say that the special military operation is proceeding strictly in line with the timetable. According to plan. All the tasks that have been set are being successfully resolved," he said on television.

* A French official says: "There was nothing in what President Putin said that could reassure us" in a phone call he made to French President Macron, said a French presidential adviser. He said Putin reiterated that he was seeking the "de-nazification of Ukraine" and Macron said: "You are lying to yourself."

* The United States and Britain announced sanctions on more Russian oligarchs, and more Western companies including Nike and IKEA closed operations in Russia.

* Past war crime cases at the International Criminal Court in The Hague suggest that - despite mounting civilian casualties in Ukraine - it will be a long and difficult process to prove violations of international humanitarian law and to prosecute any suspects successfully.

* Stocks slide as oil surge rattles inflation fears Oil prices soared again as the Ukraine war sparked a run on commodities that raised fears of "stagflation" and stocks on Wall Street and in Europe fell as investors hoped central banks will be prudent as they move to tighten monetary policy.

QUOTES

* "I want to say that the special military operation is proceeding strictly in line with the timetable. According to plan. All the tasks that have been set are being successfully resolved," Putin said on television.

* "We have nothing to lose but our own freedom," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a video.

* "You are lying to yourself. It will cost your country dearly, your country will end up isolated, weakened and under sanctions for a very long time," Macron told Putin in a call, according to a French official.

* "In just seven days, one million people have fled Ukraine, uprooted by this senseless war. I have worked in refugee emergencies for almost 40 years, and rarely have I seen an exodus as rapid as this one," UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said.

Australian Associated Press