LIVE UPDATES: Shots, Explosions Heard in Area Surrounding Azovstal, Sputnik Correspondent Reports

The comments by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov about Volodymyr Zelensky and Nazism in Ukraine is “the lowest form of propaganda,” US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said on Monday.

“The statement from Foreign Minister Lavrov, it was the lowest form of racism, it was the lowest form of propaganda,” Price said.

The United States has seen no indication that Russia has received any sort of military assistance from a third nation amid Moscow's special military operation in Ukraine, Defense Department spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday.

“I have seen no indication that they [Russia] have gotten external assistance from a third nation,” Kirby said during a press briefing. “I just have not seen any indication that they're trying to draw on external resources of other governments or countries.”

The Defense Department said specifically it has not seen any assistance from China to Russia and underscored that Moscow has accumulated “an awful lot” of weaponry on the border with Ukraine ahead of the beginning of its special military operation in Ukraine.

China poses a much more concerning long-term challenge and threat to the strategic capabilities of the United States than Russia, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told an audience at the Brookings Institution on Monday.

"Of the two I am much more concerned about China than Russia," Kendall said. "They have the resources, they have the capability [and] they have the intent."

China has the time to mature the long-term military capabilities that are designed to defeat the long-term US capability to project its power around the world, Kendall explained.

"China has the ambition to be the great power on the face of the earth. They have the ambition to be the great global power and to do that they have to basically displace the United States," he said.

Kendall said he did not think China was interested in any territorial expansion but that they were interested in having as much global influence as possible so that they could set the rules for the global economy.

The United States supports any decisions by Finland with respect to joining NATO, White House spokesperson Jen Psaki said on Monday when asked to comment on reports that Helsinki will apply for alliance membership next week.

"We've seen some reporting, and I'm not going to speak for them. We of course support the policy of NATO for those who are interested in joining to aspire and meet the qualifications to join, and certainly support any decisions by Finnish leaders and others to... apply," Psaki told reporters.

Asked about US President Joe Biden’s general view on NATO enlargement, she noted that Biden supports the alliance's open door policy. He also supports all those who have aspirations to join the alliance, she added.

"Today is my first day back to Ukraine and we are doing it as a day trip. We expect to continue to do day trips [from Poland to Lviv] for the next week or two, and then we very much hope that the conditions will permit to go back into Kiev by the end of the month," US Charge d'Affaires Kristina Kvien said on Monday during a press conference in Lviv broadcast on social media.

When asked if she could get to Kiev immediately, the diplomat replied that she is following instructions from security specialists and will return to the capital once they give the green light.

Meanwhile, several European countries announced on Monday their embassies are reopening in Kiev, including Hungary, Cyprus and Sweden.

"Like other EU countries, we have decided to bring back to Kiev the Hungarian embassy that was temporarily transferred to Lvov," Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in a video address posted on social media, adding that the physical part of the relocation was done on the weekend and the embassy is now working in Kiev.

Swedish Foreign Minister Ann Linde tweeted that her country's mission will reopen in Kiev on Wednesday and thanked Poland for temporarily hosting the mission.

The Cypriot Foreign Ministry also announced that its mission will begin gradual resumption of operations in Kiev, suspended on 26 February, starting this Tuesday. Denmark and South Korea announced on Monday reopening their mission in Kiev as well.

Some countries did not wait that long, as the French Foreign Ministry announced transferring the country's embassy in Ukraine back to Kiev from Lvov in mid-April.

The Western sanctions against Russia will be lifted only in agreement with Ukraine, and Moscow needs to negotiate with Kiev, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday.

"Without mutual understanding with Ukraine, we will not lift the sanctions," Scholz told the ZDF broadcaster, adding that Moscow "needs to negotiate" with Kiev.

The chancellor added that the goal of the West is "the immediate cessation of hostilities."

Almost 3.1 million refugees have arrived in Poland since the start of the Russian special operation in Ukraine, the Polish Border Guard said on Monday.

"Since February 24, Border Guard officers have processed 3.097 million people at checkpoints on their way from Ukraine to Poland," the service tweeted.

According to Polish border guards, 19,600 refugees from Ukraine have arrived in Poland in the past 24 hours.

At the same time, there are more people leaving than arriving in Poland, with 23,300 having crossed to Ukraine last Sunday, the border guard added.

On 16 March, refugees in Poland began receiving special identification numbers PESEL, which allow them to legally live, study, work and receive social benefits in the country.

On 21 April, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski said that the Polish capital's population had increased by 15% since February 24 due to the influx of refugees from Ukraine, entailing pressure on public services.

The United States has trained over 170 Ukrainian military personnel at more than one location outside the country on howitzers and another 50 will graduate later in the day, a senior US defence official said on Monday.

"We can now report that more than 170 Ukrainian military soldiers have been trained at more than one location on the M777 and there is another 50 plus that are scheduled to graduate today," the official said during a press briefing.

Gunshots and explosions are heard near the Azovstal plant in Mariupol on Monday, a Sputnik correspondent reported from the scene.

Earlier in the day, a spokesperson of the Interior Ministry troops of the Donetsk People’s Republic said that "the Ukrainian side began to break the ceasefire and [the DPR] had to take retaliatory actions."

First Lady Jill Biden is scheduled to visit Romania and Slovakia this week to meet with US troops, diplomats and with Ukrainian refugees, the White House said on Monday.

"First Lady Jill Biden will travel to Romania and Slovakia from May 5 - May 9, 2022. During her visit, she will meet with US service members, US embassy personnel, displaced Ukrainian parents and children, humanitarian aid workers, and educators," the White House said in a press release.

Biden is expected to arrive at Mihail Kogalniceau Airbase in Romania on Friday, where she will meet with US service members, the release said. Later in the day, Biden will meet with Ukrainian refugees, humanitarian aid workers, and American diplomats in Bucharest, the release said.

The First lady will conclude her Friday activities with a trip to meet US diplomats in Bratislava, Slovakia, the release said.

On Saturday, Biden will meet more Ukrainian refugees and humanitarian aid workers in Kosice and Vysne Nemecke, the release added.

Biden will wrap up her trip with a meeting with Slovakian government officials on May 9, according to the release.

Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu and his Turkish counterpart, Hulusi Akar, discussed the situation in Ukraine during a phone conversation on Monday, the Russian Defence Ministry told reporters.

"On the initiative of the Turkish side, on May 2, 2022, a phone conversation was held between the Russian defense minister and the army general, Sergei Shoigu, and Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar. During the talks, the current situation in Ukraine, including humanitarian issues, was discussed," the ministry said.

General mobilisation in Ukraine may be extended beyond 24 May if hostilities continue, Roman Horbach, the director for personnel at the headquarters of Ukrainian land forces, said on Monday.

"Mobilisation was announced on 24 February for three months. This does not mean, however, that that's when it will end. It will depend on the prevailing situation. If there is the need to replenish the troops, the country's leadership may extend the deadline… If hostilities persist, I am convinced that the leadership will prolong the mobilisation," Horbach told a briefing.

He noted that mobilisation is still underway, but at a considerably slower pace, given that all units are currently fully manned to perform combat operations.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declared general mobilisation immediately after Russia launched its military operation on 24 February. Ukraine has four tiers of mobilisation. The third tier launched in early April, applying to those considered the country's "military reserve," namely men liable for service who graduated from military departments of universities.

The fourth tier is the "public reserve," or those who have no age and physical limitations to undertake military service. This includes people with no combat experience who can be sent to join military units when a conflict enters a critical stage.

Two-thirds of Americans support strengthening sanctions against Russia over Ukraine, and more than a half support sending more military assistance to Kiev, according to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released on Monday.

The idea of increasing economic sanctions against Russia found support of 67%, while 22% objected and 11% picked neither option.

Sending more military aid to Ukraine found support of 55%, while 35% objected and 10 offered no response. At the same time, 76% said that more humanitarian aid should be sent to Ukraine, 16% said the opposite and 7% offered no opinion.

Only 21% were in favour of a direct US military action against Russia in Ukraine, with 72% against it and 8% having no opinion.

The poll was conducted by phone among 1,004 randomly chosen adults from April 24-28. The margin of error is 3.5 percentage points.

"I think it would be right to allow companies to pay in rubles for at least a few months while we sort out the legal framework and the consequences," the minister told Politico.

Germany is unlikely to “survive” the next two winters without imports of Russian gas, Leonhard Birnbaum, the head of major energy company E.ON, has told the FAZ newspaper.

“Without Russian gas, we are unlikely to survive the next two winters, except perhaps at the expense of the damage to our industry and economy. But then we will have neither steel nor the chemical industry, the consequences would be dramatic. So I can only warn against a gas embargo," Birnbaum said.

"Yes, I will travel [to Ukraine] as well. I have even planned the trip. I agreed with the president that he would go first ... but later, unfortunately, the president's invitation was revoked. But this does not mean that I will not go in the future," Baerbock told German public broadcaster ARD.

In April, German daily Bild reported that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had refused to host Steinmeier in Kiev due to his "close connections" to Russia in recent years. Steinmeier later confirmed that he wanted to travel to Ukraine together with other European leaders but his visit was not wanted in Kiev.

The EU is preparing a new package of sanctions against Russia, but the issue will not be on the agenda of the EU energy ministers' meeting on Monday, French Minister for the Ecological Transition Barbara Pompili said.

"A new package of sanctions against Russia is being prepared, but this will not be the topic of today's council of energy ministers. This issue will be reviewed in the coming days," Pompili told reporters ahead of the meeting in Brussels.

The meeting on Monday will focus exclusively on gas issues, the minister added.

The Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol was left by 101 hostages over the weekend, with 32 of them deciding to stay in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR), the Russian Defence Ministry said.

On Saturday alone, 21 people left the plant and another 25 people left their houses located nearby. All 46 people decided to stay in the DPR, the ministry said.

"On the second day of the operation, May 1, another 80 civilians held by Ukrainian nationalists were rescued from the plant; they were given shelter and food and offered medical assistance as needed. Eleven rescued citizens made a voluntary decision to remain in the Donetsk People's Republic," the ministry told reporters on Sunday.

Another 69 civilians decided to go to Ukraine and were transferred to the officials of the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. They left for Zaporozhye in a car convoy. The Russian Defence Ministry confirmed that the convoy is being protected by Russian troops.

Denmark has reopened its embassy in Ukraine's Kiev, Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said on Monday.

"Kiev is completely different now compared to what it had been. This also means that we can directly support [Ukraine] and closely cooperate, having our embassy and the ambassador in the heart of the Ukrainian capital," Kofod said on air of Danish broadcaster TV 2.

The foreign minister arrived in Kiev with a small delegation to attend the reopening of the embassy. At the same time, Denmark urges its nationals to "avoid any trips" to Ukraine.

On 24 February, the Danish embassy in Kiev suspended work for security reasons after Russia started its military operation.

Russia started its special military operation in Ukraine on 24 February. The Russian defence ministry said its main goal is to liberate the eastern region of Donbass, which comprises the LPR and the Donetsk People's Republic.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who refused to deliver weapons to Ukraine and announced Budapest's readiness to pay for Russian gas in rubles, has been added to the notorious Kiev-based Myrotvorets database as "anti-Ukrainian propagandist."

On Sunday, Gergely Gulyas, the head of the Hungarian Prime Minister's Office, said that nine other European countries have opened accounts in Russian banks under Moscow's scheme to accept gas payments in rubles, but they do not want to announce the move to the public.

He added that the European Union has not adopted any sanctions prohibiting payments for Russian gas in rubles and that this aspect is regulated by a civil law agreement between the government and companies.

The European Union is set to cease coal imports from Russia this summer, intending to phase out Russia oil supply until the end of 2022 and "severely" reduce gas imports, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told The Indian Express media outlet on Monday.

"Many countries have joined these sanctions, even if this necessarily implies economic costs for ourselves. We are furthermore now implementing a very ambitious policy to reduce our dependency on the import of fossil fuels from Russia. We will stop the import of Russian coal this summer, we will phase out Russian oil until the end of the year and will reduce gas imports from Russia severely," Scholz said in an interview.

Ahead of Scholz's upcoming meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 8 May in Berlin, the chancellor also said that concluding an India-EU Free Trade Agreement will be an "important step."

On 8 April, the EU approved the 5th package of sanctions against Russia over the military operation in Ukraine, including a ban on purchasing, importing or transferring Russian coal and other solid fossil fuels into the EU, on providing access to EU ports to vessels registered under the flag of Russia, and further export bans targeting jet fuel and other goods such as quantum computers and advanced semiconductors, high-end electronics, software, sensitive machinery and transportation equipment.

The Russian armed forces have destroyed 38 Ukrainian military targets with high-precision missiles, Russian Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said.

Finnish nuclear power company Fennovoima announced on Monday the termination of the contract for the construction of the Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant (NPP) with Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom in Finland's Pyhajoki.

"Fennovoima has terminated the contract for the delivery of the Hanhikivi 1 nuclear power plant with Rosatom," the company said in a statement, adding that cooperation is ended "with immediate effect and both the design and licensing work and works at the Hanhikivi 1 site with RAOS project end."

The Finnish company also said it made the decision "due to RAOS Project's [legal entity of Rosatom in Finland] significant delays and inability to deliver the project."

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that he is intending to conduct phone talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin later in the week.

"This week I plan talks with Mr. Putin," Erdogan told a briefing.

He also expressed the hope that in Ankara or Istanbul tangible steps will be taken to settle the Ukrainian crisis.

The presidents of Turkey and Russia held previous phone talks last Thursday, during which the sides deliberated on humanitarian situation in Ukraine and the Donbass region.

US First Lady Jill Biden will visit Romania and Slovakia this week to show support to Ukrainian refugees, meet with US military personnel deployed overseas, and hold official meetings, media reported on Monday, citing the White House.

The first lady will leave for Romania on 5 May, pay a visit to Mihail Kogalniceanu Air Base on the following day and depart for Bucharest on 7 May to hold meetings with the country's government officials and humanitarian workers, CNN reported.

The report added that Jill Biden will travel to Bratislava on 7 May to meet with the US embassy staff before leaving for Kosice and Vysne Nemecke in the country's east, where the first lady will express support to displaced Ukrainians.

On 9 May, the first lady will meet with Slovakian officials before her departure to the US, according to the report.

More than 5.4 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the start of Russia's military operation, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.

Ukrainian troops shelled the city of Donetsk using 122-mm calibre artillery and BM-21 "Grad" rockets in the early hours of Monday, the Donetsk People’s Republic’s (DPR) mission to the Joint Center for Control and Coordination on the ceasefire regime (JCCC) said in the early hours of Monday.

A total of four Grad rockets were launched at one neighbourhood in Donetsk in the course of less than 15 minutes during the night, the DPR mission said on its Telegram channel. Another city neighbourhood was targeted using 122-mm calibre artillery.