TOP HEADLINES

• Russia has said it will expel more than 20 German diplomats in an apparent response to reports that Germany was taking similar measures, deciding to expel a group of more than 20 Russian emissaries.

• Russia's Defense Ministry has announced the capture of three more western districts of the strategic town Bakhmut, where Ukrainian and Russian troops have been battling for months.

• Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said he did not want to "please anyone" with his views about the Ukraine conflict, after provoking criticism in the West for saying Kyiv's allies should stop sending weapons. READ MORE BELOW

• The Western-allied G7 economic powers have demanded the "extension, full implementation and expansion" of the Black Sea grain deal, which allows Ukrainian exports to leave the country by sea. Russia, which says its own agricultural exports are being hindered by Western sanctions, has signaled that it will not allow the deal to continue beyond May 18.

• A first batch of Russian fertilizer which Latvia seized last year is being shipped to Kenya, according to Latvia's Foreign Ministry. Russia has said the seizure had been a key issue in its continued participation in the agreement. 

• Several Russian missiles hit the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and its surrounding areas late on Saturday night, according to local officials.

• More than 3,000 people in the Russian city of Belgorod are returning to their homes after being evacuated in response to a Russian warplane accidentally dropping a bomb on the city. 

• Russia's foreign ministry is advising citizens to avoid travel to Canada in response to reports of numerous cases of discrimination against Russians there, including physical violence.

• Russia's richest people have allegedly added $152 billion to their wealth over the past year, helped by high prices for natural resources and a rebound from losses incurred at the start of the conflict, Forbes Russia said.

• The son of Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesperson has said in an interview that he had served in Ukraine under an assumed name as part of the Wagner mercenary force. If Nikolai Peskov, the 33-year-old son of Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, had served in Ukraine, it would be a rare, public example of a child of a senior Russian official fighting in the conflict. 

IN DETAIL

Lula calls for 'third alternative' to conflict

Brazil's Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said he did not want to "please anyone" with his views about the Ukraine conflict, after provoking Western criticism for suggesting Kyiv shared responsibility for triggering Moscow's assault. 

Speaking in Lisbon during his first visit to Europe since being elected president, Lula said he wanted to "build a way to bring both of them (Russia and Ukraine) to the table."

"While my government condemns the violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity, we support a negotiated political solution to the conflict," he told journalists.

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"I want to find a third alternative (to solve the conflict), which is the construction of peace." 

Last week he said the U.S. and European allies should stop supplying arms to Ukraine, arguing that they were drawing out the fighting. 

"If you are not making peace, you are contributing to war," said Lula, who has maintained that neutrality in the conflict was the only way to end the fighting. 

The White House in turn accused Lula of echoing Russian propaganda.

Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who was with Lula at the news conference, said their countries' stances on the conflict were different.

Portugal, a founding member of NATO and the former colonial power over Brazil, has sent military equipment to Ukraine, with Rebelo de Sousa stating that Ukraine had the right to defend itself.

Lula arrived in Portugal on Friday for a five-day visit in a bid to try to improve foreign ties following the tenure of his far-right predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, whose four years in office saw a break down in relations with many European countries. 

"I wanted to tell you how happy I am," Lula, standing next to Costa, told a room packed with government officials and reporters. "Brazil spent almost six years, especially the last four, isolated from the world.

"Brazil is back, to improve our relationship."

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