INTERNATIONAL: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Sunday said that Russia's upcoming Victory Day celebrations on May 9 will have no bearing on the pace of its special military operation in Ukraine.
"We will solemnly celebrate May 9, as we always do," Lavrov said in an interview with Italy's Mediaset broadcaster.
The pace of the operation in Ukraine depends, first of all, on the need to mitigate risks for civilians and Russian troops, he added.
When asked whether Russia wants Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to surrender, the minister said Moscow doesn't demand that he surrender but demands that he give the order to release all civilians and stop resistance.
Meanwhile, seven military facilities of Ukraine were hit by high-precision missiles of the Russian Aerospace Forces during the latest development of its military operation, including four areas of concentration of forces and military equipment, as well as three warehouses of missile and artillery weapons and ammunition in the areas of the settlements of Berezovoe in Donetsk, Slatino and Barvenkovo in the Kharkov region, spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov told reporters on Sunday.
He also noted that the Russian armed forces destroyed a hangar with weapons and ammunition delivered from the United States and European countries to the Odessa region using high-precision missiles as well as a military airfield runway.
Civilian Evacuation from the Azovstal plant in the besieged city of Mariupol continued on Sunday, with 80 civilians evacuated from the site, the Russian Defense Ministry said Sunday.
The safe evacuation is a result of ceasefire and the opening of a humanitarian corridor, the ministry said in a statement.
According to the ministry, the civilians who wished to leave were delivered to representatives of the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross.
Zelensky said earlier on Sunday that an evacuation from the steel plant had begun and the evacuees were set to arrive in the southern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia on Monday.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday said his country would send more weapons to Ukraine while lashing out at anti-war activists who urged him not to do so.
This came after Germany on April 24 announced its first delivery of heavy weapons to Ukraine after weeks of pressure at home and abroad to do so amid confusion over its stance.
Meanwhile, Germany also took the side of European Union and announced its support to ban imported oil from Russia, and the EU is also seeking to launch its sixth round of sanctions against Russia, according to Reuters Sunday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov slammed the West's moves and said that the Western nations have actually stolen more than 300 billion U.S. dollars from Russia when they seized the money meant to pay for Russian gas, which is intolerable, during an interview with Al Arabiya TV on April 29.
