Russia controls Ukraine nuclear plant

Fighting was raging in Ukraine as Russian troops besieged and bombarded cities in the second week of an invasion that has created over 1 million refugees, a barrage of sanctions, an exodus of firms from Russia and fears of a global economic hit and wider conflict.

The southeastern port city of Mariupol has been encircled and shelled. There is no water, heat or electricity and it is running out of food after five days under attack, according to Mayor Vadym Boychenko.

At a meeting on Friday, NATO allies rejected Ukraine's appeal for no-fly zones, saying that stepping in directly could make the situation worse.

"We have a responsibility... to prevent this war from escalating beyond Ukraine because that would be even more dangerous, more devastating and would cause even more human suffering," said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy slammed the summit as "weak" and "confused." "It was clear that not everyone considers the battle for Europe's freedom to be the number one goal," he said.

Putin's actions have drawn almost universal condemnation and many countries have imposed heavy sanctions as the West balances punishment with avoiding a widening of the conflict.

A glut of global brands have halted operations or exited completely while shipping and supply chain issues have made it difficult to work in Russia.

Fighting back in the information war, Russia's parliament passed a law imposing a prison term of up to 15 years for spreading intentionally "fake" news about the military.

"This law will force punishment - and very tough punishment - on those who lied and made statements which discredited our armed forces," the chairman of the Duma, Russia's lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin said.

Russia is blocking Facebook and the websites of the BBC, Deutsche Welle and Voice of America.

"It leaves us no other option than to temporarily suspend the work of all BBC News journalists and their support staff within the Russian Federation," said Tim Davie, the director general of the BBC.

The British channel said access to accurate information was a fundamental human right and it would continue its efforts to make its news available in Russia.

CNN, Bloomberg News and Canada's CBC also suspended the work of their journalists in the country.

A humanitarian disaster is also unfolding, with more than one million people seeking refuge in western Ukraine and in neighbouring countries.

The attack on the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, about 225 km west of Mariupol, brought the conflict to a perilous moment.

As shells hit the area, a training building caught fire - triggering a spasm of alarm around the world before the blaze was extinguished and officials said the facility was safe.

The US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told an emergency UN Security Council meeting, the attack reflected a "dangerous new escalation" in Russia's invasion.

International Atomic Energy Agency chief Raphael Grossi said the plant was undamaged from what he believed was a Russian projectile. Only one of its six reactors was working, at around 60 per cent of capacity.

Russia's defence ministry said the plant was working normally and its forces were in control. It blamed the fire on an attack by Ukrainian saboteurs.

Moscow denies targeting civilians in Ukraine and says its aim is to disarm its neighbour, counter what it views as NATO aggression and capture leaders it calls neo-Nazis.

Ukraine and its Western allies call that a baseless pretext for a war to conquer a country of 44 million people.

More sanctions are likely, potentially including a ban on Russian-flagged ships in European ports and blocking imports of steel, timber, aluminium or coal.

The US is also weighing up cuts to imports of Russian oil.

Australian Associated Press