LIVE UPDATES: 80 Civilians Leave Azovstal Steelworks Thanks to Putin's Initiative, MoD Says

The employees of the Belgian Embassy in Moscow who have been declared personae non gratae left the Russian capital on Sunday, Belgian media report.

"Twelve embassy employees against whom this measure was taken have already returned to Belgium," a spokesperson of the Belgian Foreign Ministry told the Belga news agency on Sunday.

The diplomats and their family members left Moscow on a Belgian military transport aircraft since there are currently no regular flights between the two countries.

According to the foreign ministry spokesperson, the Belgian embassy in Moscow will remain open despite the reduction in its personnel.

The governor of Russia's Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, said that "two large explosions" were heard in the city area, but there were no casualties or damage.

The Russian military will not forcefully adjust their actions during the special operation in Ukraine to any date, including Victory Day, which is celebrated in Russia on May 9, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

"The pace of the operation in Ukraine depends, first of all, on the need to minimize any risks for the civilian population and Russian military personnel," Lavrov told the Italian Mediaset broadcaster, saying that "our troops will not artificially adjust their actions to any date, including Victory Day."

Lavrov specified that Russia is focused on its main objectives in Ukraine, which had been announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin, namely, protection and security of the civilian population, the absence on the territory of Ukraine of any threats related to offensive weapons and nazification, which the West is actively trying to downplay.

Asked whether Russia wants Ukrainian President Volozymyr Zelenskyy to surrender, Lavrov said that Moscow is "not demanding that he surrender" but demands "that he give the order to release all civilians and stop resistance."

Lavrov emphasized that Russia wants to ensure security for all people in eastern Ukraine "so that they are not threatened by either the militarization or the nazification of this country, and that there are no threats to the security of the Russian Federation from the territory of Ukraine."

"Our goal does not include regime change in Ukraine. This is an American specialty. They do it all over the world," Lavrov stressed.

NATO has ceased to fit Washington amid the situation in Ukraine, since the alliance is seeking to reach a consensus on the issue, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Sunday.

"Currently, even NATO does not fit the Americans. They held last meetings not within the framework of NATO (a meeting dedicated to the support of Ukraine), but just convened delegations, because there is a consensus in NATO. But they [the Americans] need to quickly and single-handedly resolve all issues," Lavrov told Italian broadcaster Mediaset.

The Investigative Committee of Russia opened on Sunday a criminal case under the article "terrorist act" on the fact of the explosion of a railway bridge in the Kursk region.

"The Main Investigation Department of the Russian Investigative Committee opened a criminal investigation into the explosion of a bridge in the Kursk region on the grounds of a crime under Article 205 of the Russian Criminal Code (terrorist act)," the committee said on Telegram.

According to the Russian authorities, on 1 May, an explosive device was planted and activated on a bridge located at the 67th kilometer (41st mile) of the Sudzha-Sosnovyi Bor railway near the village of Russkaya Konopelka in the Kursk region. The explosion resulted in a partial collapse of the bridge.

The ICRC spokesman stressed that no further details of the operation could be disclosed at this stage "as it could seriously jeopardize the safety of the civilians and the convoy."

According to the Russian defence ministry, 80 civilians, including women and children, were evacuated over the weekend from the territory of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, where the remaining Ukrainian forces have been hiding since the takeover of the port city by the Russian troops. All people were taken to the village of Bezimennoye, where they were provided with overnight shelter, food and medical assistance.

About 300 civilians may remain on the territory adjacent to the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, where the remaining Ukrainian forces have been hiding since the takeover of the port city by the Russian troops, a resident evacuated from the territory said on Sunday.

"About 300 people. Maybe a little more, I think so," the resident said.

Over the past two days, over 80 civilians have been evacuated from the territory of the Azovstal plant and its vicinity by the Russian troops under the monitoring of the UN and the ICRC. They were provided with overnight shelter, food and medical assistance.

People evacuated from the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol and nearby surroundings are deciding for themselves where to go next from a temporary camp in the village of Bezimennoye located in the Donetsk People's Republic, a Sputnik correspondent reported on Sunday.

Women and children are taking seats in buses prepared for transportation to Russia or Kiev-controlled Zaporozhye. All evacuees are asked to choose their further destination in the presence of UN representatives and staff of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

At the same time, men are being checked more carefully for their potential membership in neo-Nazi formations, the correspondent said.

According to the Russian defence ministry, 80 civilians, including women and children, were evacuated from the territory of the Azovstal plant in Mariupol, where the remaining Ukrainian forces have been hiding since the takeover of the port city by the Russian troops. All people were taken to the village of Bezimennoye, where they were provided with overnight shelter, food and medical assistance.

He added that a local resident who got a minor injury is being provided with all necessary medical care.⠀

The Defender Europe 2022 (DE22) and Swift Response 2022 (SR22) military exercises will be held on the territory of nine European countries starting May 1 with the participation of 18,000 military personnel, the Polish Defenсe Ministry said on Sunday.

"Between 1 and 27 May the exercises Defender Europe 2022 (DE22) and Swift Response 2022 (SR22) with participation of Polish soldiers will be conducted on the territory of Poland and 8 other countries. There will be approximately 18 000 participants from over 20 countries training together in both exercises," the ministry said in a statement.

Apart from Polish troops, military personnel from the United States, France, Sweden, Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom will participate in the exercises, according to the statement. The 5th Corps of the US Armed Forces is reportedly responsible for the command.

DE22 and SR 22 are regular defensive exercises that are not related to the current geopolitical situation in the region, the ministry stressed.

The troops will train in various combat situations, including long-distance marches, bridging rivers, and fire training, the statement said.

A fire broke out at one of the Russian Defenсe Ministry's facilities in the Belgorod region, Vyacheslav Gladkov, the regional governor, said on Sunday.

"There has been a fire on the territory of one of the facilities of the Russian Ministry of Defense on the border of three municipalities, which are Borisov, Belgorod, and Yakovlevsky districts. Information about the victims and destruction is being specified. All emergency services are working on the spot, and all the necessary measures are being taken to ensure security," Gladkov said on Telegram.

Three buses with 40 refugees left the territory adjacent to Azovstal plant in Mariupol on Sunday and are now on their way to Novoazovsk, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The correspondent said that 18 men, 14 women, and 8 children were placed in a tent camp in the village of Bezimennoye first. The evacuation was monitored by the International Red Cross Committee and UN officers.

The bus convoy has departed for Novoazovsk, the correspondent said.

According to the ministry, the first group of 25 civilians left on Saturday afternoon, while the second group of 21 people came out in the evening.

At least 28 people left the area adjacent to the Azovstal steel plant on their own and were evacuated on Saturday, according to the DPR territorial defense headquarters.

Russia must respond to the confiscation by Western countries of property and the freezing of reserves by confiscating unfriendly countries’ business assets represented on the Russian territory, Russian lower house chairman Vyacheslav Volodin said on Sunday.

"In this regard, it is right to respond to a business located on the Russian territory, whose owners are from unfriendly countries where such decisions [financial sanctions] are made and to confiscate their assets. The proceeds from the sale of assets can be used for the development of our country," Volodin said on Telegram.

Kiev is studying the possibility of obtaining security guarantees from members of the UN Security Council (UNSC), including China, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said.

The Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurances has failed to guarantee real security to Ukraine, Kuleba said in an interview with China’s state-owned Xinhua news agency.

According to Kuleba, security in Europe will improve when Russia withdraws its troops from Ukraine.

The Ukrainian foreign minister told Xinhua that Kiev is now exploring possibilities of obtaining security guarantees from UNSC permanent members and other major powers, including China, and is offering Beijing to become one of Ukraine's security guarantors as a "sign of our respect and trust" in China.

He added that Kiev hopes that Beijing will call on Russia to initiate a ceasefire in Ukraine in order to avoid an escalation of the situation and prevent a humanitarian catastrophe.

Kuleba thanked China for voicing support for the sovereignty of Ukraine and for its readiness to support diplomatic efforts in resolving the Ukraine crisis. The foreign minister also asked China to continue its humanitarian support.

Military investigators of the Russian Investigative Committee have found evidence of mining and the flooding of civilian ships in the port of Mariupol and the nearby coastline, a Sputnik correspondent reports.

The investigators conducted an inspection of the water area and the territory of the Mariupol seaport. During the inspection, it was revealed that the territory had been minded and civilian ships were flooded.

One civilian ship that had been flooded was found off the coast of Mariupol, according to a Sputnik correspondent.