Ukrainians protest near Russian embassy in Beirut

Ukrainians in Lebanon protested outside the Russian embassy in Beirut on Wednesday against Moscow's wide-ranging attack on their country. The protest was the second since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began on Feb. 24, forcing more than 2 million people to flee the country. More than two weeks of fighting have left thousands of people dead.

"Today we are just protesting against the war, we want peace but of course we are ready to defend our land," said protester Youssef Tohme.

Renewed efforts to evacuate civilians from besieged and bombarded Ukrainian cities were underway Wednesday as authorities seek to rescue people from increasingly dire conditions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said efforts were underway to evacuate some 18,000 people from the capital Kyiv and embattled towns near it. He said the efforts were part of broader evacuation attempts by multiple humanitarian corridors within Ukraine, and warned Russian forces against violating cease-fire promises.

Days of shelling have largely cut residents of the southern city of Mariupol off from the outside world and forced them to scavenge for food and water. Authorities announced another cease-fire to allow civilians to escape from Mariupol, Sumy in the northeast, Enerhodar in the south, Volnovakha in the southeast, Izyum in the east, and several towns in the region around the capital, Kyiv.

The crisis is likely to get worse as Russian forces step up their bombardment of cities throughout the country in response to stronger than expected resistance from Ukrainian forces. Russian losses have been "far in excess" of what President Vladimir Putin and his generals expected, CIA Director William Burns said Tuesday.