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Leaders of the Group of 20 (G20) nations deplored Russia's aggression in Ukraine "in the strongest terms" on Wednesday and demanded its unconditional withdrawal in a declaration adopted at the end of a two-day summit.

The leaders of the world's biggest economies also agreed to pace interest rate rises carefully to avoid spillovers and warned of "increased volatility" in currency moves but it was Ukraine that dominated the summit on the Indonesian island of Bali.

"Most members strongly condemned the war in Ukraine," the leaders said in their declaration, signalling that Russia, which is a member of G20, opposed the wording.

The declaration recognised that "there were other views and different assessments of the situation and sanctions" but three diplomats said it was unanimously adopted.

The G20 leaders also said in the declaration that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons was "inadmissible".

"It is essential to uphold international law and the multilateral system that safeguards peace and stability. This includes defending all the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and adhering to international humanitarian law," they said.

The president of host Indonesia, Joko Widodo, said the Ukraine war had been the most contentious issue.

"The discussion on this was very, very tough and by the end the G20 leaders agreed on the content of the declaration, which was the condemnation of the war in Ukraine because it has violated country borders and integrity," he said.

The Chinese government had no immediate comment on the declaration but its state media published a translation of it in Chinese.