At least 300 people taking shelter at a theatre in Mariupol were killed by a Russian airstrike as Vladimir Putin's war rages.
The Drama Theatre of Mariupol, where hundreds including children had been sheltering, was hit by the deadly airstrike last Wednesday.
It's believed some Ukrainians are still trapped under the rubble of the bombed theatre in Mariupol, in the south-east of the country.
The city council of Mariupol confirmed on Friday morning that the death toll is believed to be at least 300.
"The drama theatre was cynically destroyed by the heralds of the 'Russian world'," a statement said.
"These fascists of the 21st century were not stopped by either the huge inscription 'children', or the statements of the people themselves that there were only peaceful people - women, children, the elderly.
"The occupier knew where he was hitting. He knew what could be consequences and all the same, the bombs fell on the place that became a refuge for hundreds of Mariupol residents. There cannot be and never will be an explanation for this inhuman cruelty."
Serhiy Taruta, a Ukrainian politician, previously confirmed that those under the rubble cannot be evacuated because the rescue services in the city had been decimated by Russian forces.
In a Facebook post he wrote: "No one understands. Services that are supposed to help are demolished, rescue and utility services... are physically destroyed.
"A lot of doctors have been killed. This means that all the survivors of the bombing will either die under the ruins of the theater, or have already died."
Svitlana Zlenko, who fled Mariupol with her son a day before the theatre was bombed, described the city as "hell".
She described how she was forced to melt snow to get water to cook pasta and they lived in constant fear of Russian air raids.
The mum spent some of her last days in the city sheltering in a school, and described the moment a woman was wounded during a bombing, when shrapnel hit her hip.
She said: "She was lying on the first floor of the high school all night and prayed for poison so that she would not feel pain.
"[She] was taken by the Red Cross within a day, I pray to God she is well."
The news comes after Ukrainian troops launched a series of counter-attacks overnight which forced back over-stretched and under-supplied Russian troops, just outside the capital of Kyiv.
Kyiv’s troops had managed to not only push back the Russian invaders, but reoccupy towns and defensive positions up to 21 miles east of the city that has long been Russia’s main target.
The Ministry of Defence announced the successful manoeuvres in an intelligence update on Friday morning.
