Kyiv, Mar. 4: A spokesman for Europe’s largest nuclear plant said the facility is on fire after Russia attacked the power station in the southern Ukrainian city of Enerhodar. The fire broke out at the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine and the Russian army was shelling it from all sides, Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter Friday after a local mayor also reported a Russian attack there.

Heavy fighting is continuing on the outskirts of a strategic port city on the Azov Sea, Mariupol. The Russian military says it controls Kherson, and local Ukrainian officials have confirmed Russian forces have taken over local government headquarters in the Black Sea port of 2.8 lakh people, making it the first major city to fall since the start of the war.

Meanwhile, a member of Ukraine’s delegation sent to speak with the Russians said both sides have agreed to establish corridors for civilians to safely leave combat zones. The corridors will include cease-fires along the path, said Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Zelenskyy.

Russia and Ukraine have 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 1 million refugees have fled Ukraine in just seven days, the United Nations said.

Russian forces battled for control of the Ukrainian city that is home to the biggest nuclear power plant in Europe on Thursday and gained ground in their bid to cut off the country from the sea, as Ukrainian leaders called on citizens to rise up and wage guerrilla war against the invaders.

While the huge Russian armoured column threatening Kyiv appeared bogged down outside the capital, Vladimir Putin's forces have brought their superior firepower to bear over the past few days, launching hundreds of missiles and artillery attacks on cities and other sites around the country and making significant gains in the south.-Agencies