Civilians are finally being evacuated from the bombed-out steel plant where hundreds have been sheltering in the last Ukrainian stronghold in Mariupol, the key city that is otherwise under Russian control after months of siege.

    The rescue operation in the southeastern port comes after weeks of failed efforts, with Russian forces bombarding Mariupol as they battle to make progress in their new offensive in the region.

    The U.S. and its allies have stepped up their military support for Kyiv, with the surprise weekend trip to the Ukrainian capital by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California and other Democratic lawmakers the latest signal of growing Western backing. Pelosi met with Poland's president Monday, while first lady Jill Biden is set to travel to NATO members Romania and Slovakia this week to meet with families who have fled the war.

    The Kremlin has left itself with few global allies, and it now seems to have alienated one of the countries to have remained relatively neutral through the war after Israel denounced comments by Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov comparing Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, who Lavrov falsely said also had Jewish roots.