Vladimir Kapitonov, 98, a World War II veteran and former military pilot gestures while speaking to a group of foreign journalists in Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, in territory under Russian military control, southeastern Ukraine, Sunday. (AP Photo)

Here are summaries of the latest stories worldwide on the Russia-Ukraine war, as reported by The Associated Press:

___

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian authorities say that the Russian military again has struck a strategic bridge in the country’s southwest.

Odesa region Gov. Maksym Marchenko said that the Russians today hit a bridge across the Dniester Estuary west of Odesa where the Dniester River flows into the Black Sea. The bridge already had been heavily damaged in two previous Russian missile strikes.

The bridge provides the only railway connection and the key highway link to areas west of Odesa. Its destruction cuts access to shipments of weapons and other cargo from neighboring Romania.

The attacks on the bridge followed a claim by a senior Russian military officer that Russia aims to take control of the entire south of Ukraine and build a land corridor to the separatist Transnistria region of Moldova, where tensions have recently escalated.

The region broke away after a short civil war in the early 1990s, and is unrecognized by most countries. An estimated 1,500 Russian soldiers are stationed there. Ukrainian and Western officials have voiced concern that Russia could use the region to open a new front in the war against Ukraine.

___

KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:

• Evacuation of civilians from Ukrainian steel plant begins

• Israel angered by Lavrov’s remarks on Hitler and Nazism

• Pelosi, in surprise Kyiv trip, vows unbending US support

• Jill Biden to meet Ukrainian refugees in Romania, Slovakia

Follow all AP stories on Russia’s war on Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

___

OTHER DEVELOPMENTS:

Teams of workers strove today to repair a bridge in southwestern Russia near the border with Ukraine that was damaged in what a local governor described as an act of sabotage.

The regional administration said it expects the repair work will be completed Wednesday.

Kursk regional Gov. Roman Starovoit said Sunday that the bridge was blown up by unidentified attackers and the Investigative Committee, Russia’s top state investigative agency, has launched a criminal probe into what it described as a “terrorist act.”

Officials didn’t specify the significance of the bridge for the war, but it sits on a key railway link used to ferry supplies to Russian troops fighting in eastern Ukraine.

No one has claimed responsibility for the attack on the bridge, that follows a series of explosions and fires in western Russia amid the war in Ukraine that has entered a third month.

___

LVIV, Ukraine — U.S. diplomats have made a day trip back into Ukraine amid that country’s grinding war with Russia.

Kristina Kvien, U.S. Embassy charge d’affaires, attended a news conference today in Lviv to highlight the diplomatic return.

The U.S. pulled out of its Kyiv embassy to Lviv before the war, then pulled out entirely after Russia began its war on Ukraine in February.

In recent days, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited, promising diplomats would return.

Kvien spoke at the Lviv’s city council building in front of a Chestnut Briotti tree planted in April 2021 by America. She said America was there to support Ukraine and hoped to return to Kyiv soon.

Andriy Sadovyi, Lviv’s mayor, also attended the event. He pledged that Ukraine would “kick out the enemy from our land.”

___

KYIV, Ukraine — Danish Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod walked the streets of Kyiv suburbs today to view the devastation caused by Russian forces before they withdrew.

He tweeted to say that it was “horrible” to witness the destruction, which he viewed with his Ukrainian counterpart Dmytro Kuleba.

Kofod also said that Denmark firmly supports the work to investigate and prosecute those responsible for killing civilians in those areas, referring to the International Criminal Court’s work in investigating possible war crimes.

Denmark’s Embassy in Kyiv reopened today after closing earlier in the war. Kofod said he hoisted the Danish flag on the building.

___

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says his Russian counterpart’s recent remarks about Adolf Hitler and Jews demonstrate “the deeply-rooted antisemitism of the Russian elites.”

In an interview with an Italian news channel, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that Ukraine could still have Nazi elements even if some figures, including President Volodymry Zelenskyy, were Jewish. “Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it doesn’t mean anything,” he said, according to an Italian translation.

“Lavrov could not help hiding the deeply rooted antisemitism of the Russian elites,” Kuleba said in a tweet today. “His heinous remarks are offensive to President Zelenskyy, Ukraine, Israel, and the Jewish people. More broadly, they demonstrate that today’s Russia is full of hatred towards other nations.”

___

MOSCOW — The Russian military says 69 people who came out of the the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol on Sunday chose to be evacuated to Ukraine-controlled territories, while 57 others who left the plant and the surrounding areas asked to stay in the areas under Russian control.

The Russian Defense Ministry said today that on Saturday, 21 people left the plant and 25 more left their homes in the neighboring areas; all of them “voluntarily decided to stay” in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic run by Russia-backed separatists. The Ministry said that on May 1, 80 more people left the plant, of which 11 “remained in the Donetsk Republic.”

It said 69 others decided to “leave for the territory controlled by the Kyiv regime.”

The Ukrainian authorities have not yet confirmed this data, and it could not be independently verified.

___

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Latvia’s Foreign Ministry today said it “strongly urges” its nationals against visiting Transnistria and to leave if they are currently there.

Transnistria is a small strip of land that has been under the control of pro-Moscow separatist authorities since a 1992 war with Moldova near the border with Ukraine.

There have been concerns that the war between Russia and Ukraine could extend to Transnistria.

The ministry in Riga was taking into account the existing regional security threats and the Moldovan parliament’s recent decision to extend the state of emergency throughout the country for 60 days, the Baltic News Service reported.

___

ATHENS, Greece — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says that half a million Ukrainians have been “illegally taken to Russia, or other places, against their will.”

Speaking to Greek state TV ERT, Zelenskyy said the remaining civilians in the Azovstal factory in the city of Mariupol are afraid to board buses because they believe they will be taken to Russia.

The United Nations has begun evacuating civilians from the factory.

Zelenskyy said U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres assured him that those evacuated would end up in an area controlled by the government of Ukraine.

“We want to believe this,” the Ukrainian leader said.

___

WARSAW, Poland — A top-level U.S. congressional delegation led by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was in Warsaw today to express gratitude to Poland for its humanitarian and other support for Ukraine.

Pelosi and a half dozen U.S. lawmakers met with President Andrzej Duda and Polish lawmakers in Warsaw. The visit followed a weekend visit to Kyiv where they met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, pledging to support his country until it defeats Russia.

In a statement after the meeting with Duda, Pelosi called him “a valued partner in supporting the people of Ukraine in the face of Putin’s brutal and unprovoked war.”

She said that during their meeting the members of her delegation “expressed America’s deep gratitude to the Polish government and Polish people for opening their hearts and homes to Ukrainian refugees, and we reaffirmed our nation’s pledge to continue supporting Poland’s humanitarian efforts.”

___

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A Finnish nuclear energy company said today it has decided to terminate with immediate effect a contract with Russian state nuclear energy corporation Rosatom for the delivery of a nuclear power plant, in part due to the war in Ukraine “which has worsened the risks for the project.”

The company, Fennovoima, also cited “significant delays and inability to deliver the project” for terminating the deal to build the northern Finland Hanhikivi Nuclear Power Plant.

It was proposed to house a Russian-designed pressurized water reactor, with a capacity of 1200 MW and the nuclear power plant was to generate approximately 10 percent of Finland’s electricity needs, the company said.

In April 2021, the company announced that construction was to begin in 2023 and commercial operation would start in 2029.

In a statement, Fennovoimas’s CEO Joachim Specht said the decision “is estimated to have a significant employee impact in Fennovoima and is expected to impact also the supply chain companies.”

___

MOSCOW — The Russian military says its forces have struck dozens of Ukrainian military targets in the east.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said today that Russian warplanes fired precision guided missiles to hit 38 Ukrainian targets, including concentrations of troops and weapons, over the last 24 hours. He said that a Russian air strike also destroyed an ammunition depot near Chervone in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Konashenkov said that a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter jet was downed near the eastern town of Slovyansk.

The announcements couldn’t be independently confirmed.

In recent weeks, the Russian military has focused is efforts on Ukraine’ industrial heartland called Donbas, where Moscow-backed separatists have been battling Ukrainian forces since 2014.

___

KYIV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian military says that Russia has redeployed some of its forces from the port of Mariupol to join its offensive in the east.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian armed forces said today that several Russian battalions had been sent from Mariupol to the town of Popasna in the eastern Luhansk region. Popasna has been one of the epicenters of fighting in the east as the Russian military has sought to break through the Ukrainian defenses there in a bid to encircle Ukrainian forces in the east.

The Ukrainian General Staff also said that the Russians were also trying to press their attacks from Izyum to the towns of Slovyansk and Barvinkove. Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov told The Associated Press that the redeployment of forces from Mariupol to the frontline in the east reflect their failure to make any gains there.

The Russian military is still struggling to uproot the last remaining Ukrainian pocket of resistance at the giant Azovstal steel mill in Mariupol. The U.N. is set to coordinate an effort today to evacuate civilians sheltering at the plant.

___

KYIV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian authorities say several civilians have been killed in the latest Russian bombardment.

The office of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said today that at least three people were killed and another three, including a child, were wounded in the eastern Luhansk region over the last 24 hours. It said that four people were wounded in the shelling in another eastern region of Donetsk.

The regional administration in the Zaporizhzhia region further west said that at least two people died and another four were wounded in the Russian shelling of the town of Orikhiv.

___

BERLIN — Germany says it would be able to cope if supplies of Russian oil were cut off due to an embargo or a decision by Moscow.

Economy Minister Robert Habeck said that Russian oil now accounts for 12 percent of total imports, down from 35 percent before the war, and most of it goes to the Schwedt refinery near Berlin.

Habeck acknowledged that losing those supplies could result in a “bumpy” situation for the capital and surrounding region, with price hikes and shortages, but that wouldn’t result in Germany “slipping into an oil crisis.”

He said the issue of an oil embargo would be discussed at an EU energy ministers meeting in Brussels, attended by also India. Still, he added that “other countries aren’t so far yet and I think that needs to be respected.”

___

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark has summoned Russia’s Ambassador in Copenhagen today to explain the violation by a Russian military reconnaissance plane of Danish airspace last week.

The plane, an AN-30 propeller plane, first briefly entered the Danish airspace late April 29 east of the Danish Baltic Island of Bornholm before flying into Swedish airspace.

Denmark’s Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said today on Twitter that it was “extremely worrying in the current situation.”

Over the weekend, Swedish Defense Minister Peter Hultqvist said the violation was “unacceptable” and “unprofessional.”

___

BRUSSELS — European Union energy ministers are meeting later today to discuss Russia’s decision to cut gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland, and debate planned new sanctions over Moscow’s war on Ukraine.

The 27-nation EU has imposed five rounds of sanctions on Russian officials, oligarchs, banks, companies and other organizations since Russian troops invaded Ukraine in February.

The European Commission is working on a sixth round of measures which could include oil restrictions, but Russia-dependent countries like Hungary and Slovakia are wary of taking tough action.

The EU’s executive branch could announce new sanction proposals later this week. The measures would have to be approved by the member countries — a process that can take several days.

The energy ministers will also look at what steps to take should Russia ramp up its pressure by cutting gas supplies to other countries.

___

TEL AVIV, Israel — Israel has summoned the Russian ambassador over comments made by the Russian foreign minister about Nazism and antisemitism.

In an interview with an Italian news channel, Sergey Lavrov explained that Ukraine could still have Nazi elements even if some figures, including the country’s president, were Jewish.

“Hitler also had Jewish origins, so it doesn’t mean anything,” he said, according to an Italian translation.

In a statement today, Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid called the remarks “unforgivable and scandalous and a horrible historical error.”

“The Jews did not murder themselves in the Holocaust,” Lapid said. “The lowest level of racism against Jews is to blame Jews themselves for antisemitism.”

Israel’s Holocaust memorial Yad Vashem called the remarks “absurd, delusional, dangerous and deserving of condemnation.”

The stern reaction stands in contrast to Israel’s position on the war in Ukraine, where it has tried to maintain a semblance of neutrality. It relies on Russia for security coordination in Syria and has been measured in its criticism of Russia’s invasion. Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has also tried mediating between the two countries, though the efforts appear to have stalled.

___

COPENHAGEN, Denmark — Denmark will become the first Nordic country to reopen its diplomatic mission in Kyiv, meaning Danes “can have a direct cooperation by having our embassy and ambassador in the heart of the Ukrainian capital,” Foreign Minister Jeppe Kofod said today.

Kofod said the improved security situation meant that Ambassador Ole Egberg Mikkelsen and his staff can return to Kyiv, where their embassy reopens today.

However, Kofod who had traveled to the Ukrainian capital for the reopening of the embassy, told Danish media that “this is not a normal situation” as he spoke of the overall circumstances in Ukraine. Denmark, he added, still advises against all travel to the country where there “is a fierce war.”

___

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s president says the war in Ukraine shouldn’t negatively affect the tourism season.

After prayers marking the beginning of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is “very sensitive” about Turkey’s need for tourism revenue and has already pledged to give his support.

Turkey suffers from skyrocketing inflation and needs tourists’ foreign currencies. Erdogan added Saudi tourists would also be arriving following his visit to Saudi Arabia last week.

In an interview with Greek state broadcaster ERT, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Russian tourism brought revenue to neighboring Greece and Turkey and called this “blood money.” Zelenskyy pointed to a double standard where Turkey acted as a meditator between Ukraine and Russia while preparing destinations for Russian tourists.

Erdogan said he’ll speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week to discuss speeding up evacuations from the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol and to find a way for grain exports from Ukraine and Russia.

___

LVIV, Ukraine — The British military believes more than a quarter of all troops Russia deployed for its war in Ukraine are now “combat ineffective.”

The comment today came as part of a daily briefing on Twitter the British Defense Ministry has offered about the ongoing war in Ukraine. The British military believes Russia committed over 120 so-called “battalion tactical groups” into the war since February, which represents 65 percent of all of Moscow’s combat strength.

The ministry said, “It is likely that more than a quarter of these units have now been rendered combat ineffective.”

Combat ineffective is a term that refers to a military’s ability to wage war. Losing soldiers to wounds and death, as well as having equipment damaged or destroyed, affects that.

The British military said that some of Russia’s most elite forces, like the VDV Airborne, “have suffered the highest levels of attrition.”

It added: “It will probably take years for Russia to reconstitute these forces.”

___

KYIV, Ukraine — Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the Azov Regiment that is helping defend the last section of Mariupol not occupied by the Russians, said he was glad evacuations had begun.

Palamar hoped the evacuations from the Azovstal steel mill continue until everyone in the plant, civilians and soldiers, has gotten out. It’s been difficult even to reach some of the wounded inside the plant, he told The Associated Press in an interview from Mariupol on Sunday.

“There’s rubble. We have no special equipment. It’s hard for soldiers to pick up slabs weighing tons only with their arms,” he said.

The Azovstal plant is strewn with mines, rockets, artillery shells and unexploded cluster ordnance, he said.

He said the presence of children and civilians makes it harder to fight, and there are many injured people in the plant. There’s not enough water, he said, and the air smells of decomposing bodies.

The fighters in the plant will continue to resist until they receive an order not to, Palamar said.

___

An explosive device damaged a railway bridge Sunday in the Kursk region of Russia, which borders Ukraine, and a criminal investigation has been started. The region’s government reported the blast in a post on Telegram.

Recent weeks have seen a number of fires and explosions in Russian regions near the border, including Kursk. An ammunition depot in the Belgorod region burned after explosions were heard, and authorities in the Voronezh region said an air defense system shot down a drone. An oil storage facility in Bryansk was engulfed by fire a week ago.

The explosion Sunday caused a partial collapse of the bridge near the village of Konopelka, on the Sudzha-Sosnovy Bor railway, the report from Kursk said.

“It was a sabotage, a criminal case has been opened,” said the region’s governor, Roman Starovoit, according to the Russian News Agency TASS. He said there were no casualties, and no effect on the movement of trains.

___

KYIV, Ukraine — Four civilians were reported killed and 11 more were injured by Russian shelling in the Donetsk region on Sunday, the Ukrainian regional governor said that evening.

The deaths and seven of the injuries were in the northern city of Lyman, governor Pavlo Kyrylenko wrote in a Telegram post. One person also died in the city of Bakhmut from injuries received in the Luhansk region, he said.

In the same post, Kyrylenko said that it was impossible to determine the number of victims in the bombed-out port city of Mariupol and the town of Volnovakha, which is controlled by pro-Kremlin separatists.