At least 18 wounded in Russian strike on Ukraine's Mykolaiv

At least 18 people were wounded by a Russian strike on the Ukrainian port city of Mykolaiv on Thursday, regional governor Vitaliy Kim said, while authorities in Odesa reported fresh strikes on the region.

Tensions around Ukraine's Black Sea ports have escalated after Russia warned that ships sailing to them from Thursday would be seen as potential military targets, in the wake of Moscow's withdrawal from a deal securing safe passage of Ukrainian grain shipments.

A three-storey residential building was hit in the Mykolaiv city centre, and emergency services rescued two people from the rubble, Kim wrote on the Telegram messaging app.

He had written earlier that some people had been killed but provided no further information in subsequent messages.

Odesa administration speaker Serhiy Bratchuk said two people were hospitalised after a strike on Odesa that damaged a building and caused a fire.

Another strike was reported outside the city, Bratchuk wrote on Telegram.