A drama theatre where hundreds of terrified Ukrainians were sheltering from Russian forces was razed to the ground in an airstrike today, it has been reported.
Authorities in besieged Mariupol announced that a theatre in the "heart" of the city, which had become a sanctuary for hundreds of civilians, was hit by Russian bombs this afternoon.
The city council said it's "impossible to estimate the scale of this horrific and inhumane act" and that efforts were underway to find the identities of the victims - and just how many innocent Ukrainians were slaughtered.
They confirmed the central part of the venue was completely destroyed, as was the entrance to an area being used as a bomb shelter.
The statement went on: "It is impossible to find words that could describe the level of cruelty and cynicism with which the Russian occupiers are destroying the civilian population of the Ukrainian city by the sea.
"Women, children, and the elderly remain in the enemy's sights.
"These are completely unarmed peaceful people.
"It is obvious that the only goal of the Russian army is the genocide of the Ukrainian people."
They added that Ukrainians will "never forgive" Moscow for "this crazy war".
"We will never forgive and never forget," the statement read.
It comes less than a day after Russian soldiers held patients and doctors hostage at a hospital in the bombarded city, a regional governor, amidst a brutal siege.
Parents have also been forced to leave premature babies in a hospital in the Ukrainian city with around 350,000 people trapped with food and water running out, say reports.
Horrific scenes of bombed out buildings and street fighting have been played out in recent days as the Russian army shells the city and the Ukrainian residents are ready to battle to the death to keep them out.
Desperate attempts have been made to evacuate the city as part of a humanitarian corridor but there remain about 350,000 people still inside Mariupol with resources dwindling.
And with the fighting raging, people have been unable to leave hospital, said Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Ukrainian military in the Donetsk region.
He also claimed that around 400 local residents and 100 staff had been rounded up as human shields and are being kept at the hospital in what he called “crimes against humanity”.
"It's impossible to get out of the hospital," Mr Kyrylenko wrote in a Telegram post. "They're shooting hard, we sit in the basement."
He continued: "Cars can't drive to the hospital for two days already. High-rise buildings are burning around. Russians drove 400 people from neighbouring houses into our hospital. We can't get out."
In hospital three in Mariupol there are premature babies without parents who have been forced to leave, it is reported.
