A Russian air strike has destroyed a theatre in Mariupol where at least a thousand people were sheltering, the city council said.
The city’s deputy mayor Serhiy Orlov told the BBC between 1,000 and 1,200 people were in the cultural landmark when it was bombed.
The number of casualties was still unknown, he added.
The Evening Standard could not independently verify the information.
Ukranian MP Roman Hryshchuk accused the Russians of knowing that the theatre was full of children and other civilians.Posting a drone shot of the theatre before the bombing to Twitter, he wrote: “Giant white inscriptions on the ground say: “CHILDREN”. Russians knew there are civilians in the theater.”
‼️ Mariupol Drama Theater before the bombing. Giant white inscriptions on the ground say: "CHILDREN". Russians knew there are civilians in the theater. #GenocideOfUkrainians pic.twitter.com/c7dY7qqqsv
— Roman Hryshchuk 🇺🇦 (@grishchukroma) March 16, 2022
The State Service of Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine, tweeted: “The Russians dropped a highly explosive bomb just in the heart of Mariupol - Drama Theatre. There were a lot of citizens in there hiding from the shelling, the number of the dead under the rubble remains unknown.”
The Southern city has been under constant Russian shelling since the start of the war, causing immense destruction.
Last week, an attack on a children’s and maternity hospital left five dead.While Russian forces took patients and doctors hostage in a different hospital, the regional governor said on Tuesday.
According to Pavlo Kyrylenko Russian forces captured 400 people and are holding them hostage in the city’s largest hospital.
In a statement on his Facebook, Mr Kyrylenko relayed a first-hand account from one of the apparent hostages saying: “It is impossible to get out of the hospital. Shooting is constant and we are sitting in the basement.
“Cars haven’t been able to leave the hospital for two days. In our hospital, the Russians chased 400 people from neighboring houses. It’s impossible for us to get out.”
As many as 300,000 civilians have been stuck in the since the outbreak of the Russian invasion.
They have become desperate for food and shelter after being left without power.
Around 20,000 civilians fled Mariupol on Tuesday along a humanitarian corridor, which runs to city of Zaporizhzhia.
