Last women and children evacuated from Ukrainian steel mill

Russian forces have kept up their barrage of southern Ukraine, hitting the major Black Sea port of Odesa with cruise missiles and bombarding the steelworks up the coast in Mariupol

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine -- Russian forces kept up their barrage of southern Ukraine, hitting the major Black Sea port of Odesa with cruise missiles and bombarding the steelworks up the coast in Mariupol, where Ukrainian fighters remained trapped underground.

Moscow was aiming to complete its conquest of Mariupol in time for Victory Day celebrations on Monday. But it's forces continued to face dogged resistance from defenders within the bunkers beneath the factory. Civilians have been evacuated.

In a sign of the unexpectedly effective defense that has sustained the fighting into its 11th week, Ukraine’s military struck Russian positions on a Black Sea island that was captured in the war’s first days and has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance.

Western military analysts also said a Ukrainian counteroffensive was advancing around the country's second-largest city, Kharkiv. Ukraine's military said retreating Russian forces destroyed three bridges on a road northeast of the city to try to slow the Ukrainian advance.