People fleeing besieged Mariupol described weeks of bombardments and deprivation as they arrived Monday in Ukrainian-held territory, where officials and relief workers anxiously awaited the first group of civilians freed from a steel plant that is the last redoubt of Ukrainian fighters in the devastated port city.

Video posted online Sunday by Ukrainian forces showed elderly women and mothers with small children climbing over a steep pile of rubble from the sprawling Azovstal steel plant and eventually boarding a bus.

More than 100 civilians from the plant were expected to arrive in Zaporizhzhia, about 140 miles (230 kilometers) northwest of Mariupol, on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

The first multistate contest of the 2022 midterm election season unfolds on Tuesday, as Ohio voters pick nominees for governor and the U.S. Senate while Indiana voters consider whether their Legislature should become even more conservative.

The races, particularly in Ohio, could provide a fresh window into former President Donald Trump’s sway among the party faithful. He has been especially involved in Ohio’s Senate primary, which has been marred by Republican divisions, along with campaigns for the U.S. House and secretary of state.

For Democrats, a potential threat to incumbent U.S. Rep. Shontel Brown in Cleveland is of keen interest. Brown is locked in a rematch against progressive challenger Nina Turner, a former state senator and surrogate for Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaigns. Turner is trying again after losing to Brown in last year’s special election.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has concluded a secret visit to Ukraine this weekend, becoming the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit the war-ravaged country since Russia’s brutal invasion began in February.

Pelosi led the previously unannounced trip with a small group of senior House Democrats, including Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Rules Committee Chair Jim McGovern (D-Mass.).

The group met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and other top officials in Kyiv, the country’s capital. A video posted on Zelenskyy’s Twitter account showed the lawmakers walking the streets of Kyiv before being greeted by the Ukrainian leader outside the presidential palace.

If Democrats lose the House this fall, as they’re widely expected to, their ability to do ambitious bills will be all but moot. Given Republican opposition, it’s likely most legislation, barring must-pass measures like appropriations, will be dead on arrival.

In fact, holding their majority in the upper chamber is still extremely important for a number of reasons, perhaps none more so than the courts.

If elected, a Democratic Senate would be able to confirm more of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, including any upcoming theoretical Supreme Court pick. Even without the House, they could approve judges for district courts, circuit courts, and the high court with a simple Senate majority.