An MP from Mariupol says hundreds of women and children survived an attack on a theatre that was being used as a bomb shelter.
Look back on all of Thursday's updates as they happened.
Key events
- Some survivors emerge from Ukraine theatre hit by strike
- Further Russian air strikes on Mariupol
- Rubble being cleared to reach survivors of Mariupol theatre attack
- Zelenskyy accuses Germany of putting its economy before Ukraine's security
- At least one dead after missile remains hit Kyiv apartment building
- Zelenskyy: World War III 'may have already started'
- Melitopol mayor freed after five days, Ukraine says
- Russia says Biden calling Putin a war criminal is 'unforgivable'
- Meta deletes Russia's posts about hospital bombing from Facebook
Live updates
By Jacqueline Howard
That's all from the blog tonight
Thank you for following along.
We'll be back tomorrow with the latest updates as they happen — in the meantime, you can stay up to date on the ABC News website and on our app.
By Jacqueline Howard
Some survivors emerge from Ukraine theatre hit by strike
Survivors have begun to emerge from the rubble of a theatre building in the centre of Mariupol following an attack by Russian forces that destroyed the building but not the bomb shelter inside.
Authorities continue to work to rescue the hundreds of men, women and children — up to 1,000 according to some officials — who had taken shelter in the basement, seeking safety amid Russia's strangulating three-week siege of the strategic southern port city.
“People are coming out alive,” Ukrainian parliament member Sergiy Taruta wrote on Facebook, though he did not say how many.
It is not currently known if there were injuries or deaths among those inside.
Reporting by Associated Press
By Jacqueline Howard
Russia denies attack on Mariupol theatre
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said accusations the Russian military had attacked a theatre in Mariupol were "a lie".
"Of course, the Kyiv regime immediately tried to lay the blame for everything that happened in Mariupol, in particular, for blowing up the drama theatre building, on the Russian military, who, in their opinion, allegedly dropped an aerial bomb on the theatre building. Of course, this is a lie," said Ms Zakharova.
She also denied attacks by Russian forces on March 6, which allegedly damaged the Albanian honorary consulate in Kharkiv, Ukraine.
"We strongly reject such accusations, since the very beginning of the special operation in Ukraine, we have made it clear that the Russian armed forces do not shell civilian infrastructure," Ms Zakharova said.
Reporting by Associated Press
By Jacqueline Howard
US to send an additional $1 billion of aid to Ukraine, after heartfelt Zelenskyy address | The World
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has pleaded with the U-S government to enforce tougher sanctions on Russia, as he delivered a passionate address to US congress. Washington replied with more than $1 billion in additional aid to Ukraine. Political reporter with The Hill Julia Manchester tells The World Russia's invasion of Ukraine seems to have united law-makers on Capitol Hill.
By Jacqueline Howard
Rescue at Mariupol theatre begins
Ukraine’s ombudswoman Ludmyla Denisova says the theatre in Mariupol has withstood the impact of an airstrike, and the rescue of civilians from under the rubble of the destroyed building has begun.
“The building withstood the impact of a high-powered air bomb and protected the lives of people hiding in the bomb shelter," she said on Telegram.
“Work is underway to unlock the basement” and surviving adults and children are coming out, she wrote.
She said there is no information on casualties so far.
By Jacqueline Howard
'Colossal losses' in Chernihiv, says governor
The northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv has experienced “colossal losses and destruction” amid heavy bombardment from Russian artillery and air strikes, governor Viacheslav Chaus said.
Mr Chaus said the bodies of 53 people “killed by the Russian aggressor from the ground or from the air” had been delivered to city morgues over the past 24 hours.
The Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s Office said 10 people were killed in Chernihiv while standing in line for bread on Wednesday. Russia has denied involvement.
Mr Chaus said civilians were hiding in basements and shelters without access to utilities in the city of 280,000 people.
“The city has never known such nightmarish, colossal losses and destruction,” he said.
Chernihiv, which is close to the borders with Belarus and Russia, was among the first Ukrainian cities to come under attack from Russian forces when the invasion began three weeks ago.
By Jacqueline Howard
Inside a reception centre for Ukrainian refugees in Poland
Over 1.8 million Ukrainians have fled to Poland in the weeks since Russia's invasion of the country began.
Inside this old train station in Krakow, a reception centre has been established so Ukrainians — and their pets — can rest safely.
By Jacqueline Howard
'No death reports' yet from Mariupol theatre
A Ukrainian politician says there are reports of injuries but not deaths in a strike on a theatre in Mariupol where hundreds of civilians had been taking shelter.
Lesia Vasylenko said between 1,000 and 1,500 people were sheltering at the theatre when it was hit by an airstrike, and called the attack the deliberate “destruction of a refuge.”
Ms Vayslenko said local officials report that 80-to-90 per cent of all structures in Mariupol have been damaged in the Russian assault.
By Jacqueline Howard
UK to send missile defense system to Poland
Britain's defense secretary says his country will deploy a missile defense system to NATO ally Poland in reaction to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK would provide the Sky Sabre medium-range anti-air missile system to Poland with about 100 personnel.
He said the move is “to make sure that we stand alongside Poland in protecting her airspace from any further aggression from Russia.”
The decision comes days after Russian missiles struck a military base in Yavoriv, Ukraine, just a few miles from the border with Poland.
The British promise of military support also comes as nearly 2 million of the more than 3 million refugees to flee Ukraine arrive in Poland.
“As a NATO ally and a very old ally, it is very right that Britain stands by Poland as Poland carries much of the burden of the consequence of this war and stands tall and brave to stand up to the threats from Russia,” Mr Wallace said.
Reporting by Associated Press
By Jacqueline Howard
Russia says those leaving the country are 'traitors'
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said many people in Russia were showing themselves to be "traitors", referring to those who were resigning from their jobs and leaving the country in the wake of the invasion of Ukraine.
The comment comes a day after President Vladimir Putin delivered a stark warning to Russian "traitors" who he said the West wanted to use as a "fifth column" to destroy the country.
"In such difficult times... many people show their true colours. Very many people are showing themselves, as we say in Russian, to be traitors," Mr Peskov said.
"They vanish from society themselves. Some people are leaving their posts, some are leaving their active work life, some leave the country and move to other countries. That is how this cleansing happens."
The term 'cleansing' referred to a further comment from Mr Putin that Russia would undergo a natural and necessary "self-cleansing" as people were able to "distinguish the true patriots from the scum and the traitors".
Reporting by Reuters
By Jacqueline Howard
Even after leaving Kyiv, Anna still doesn't feel safe
But after seeing the devastation Russian forces caused on cities including Mariupol and Kharkiv, the mother of two young boys knew she had to flee.
Now based in the western city of Ternopil, she wonders if she and her family will ever be safe.
"Russian rockets can fly anywhere.... I cannot say we are absolutely safe,” she told News Channel’s Karina Carvalho.
Forced to leave her mother and mother-in-law behind, Ms Andrusyk said the choice to leave Kyiv was tough as she still had family in the capital.
"She [mum] still doesn't want to leave, I respect her choice but I understand she's a grown up to understand responsibility,” she said.
Her son has learned a new word — bomb — and the sound of sirens, and was explaining to them as simply as possible what was happening.
"I would say they are better than we are ... they are really really young to realise how serious it can be,” she said.
“I'm quite happy I don’t have teenage kids."
Ms Andrusyk said she was determined not to leave her country or her husband behind who had to stay in case he was needed for military service, but said she would come back if forced to go in order to rebuild the country she loves.
"It can be an option, we moved to the west to have more manoeuvre," she said.
“We have several options where to go including in Europe but so far I want to stay with my husband, in the country where I know the language."
By Jacqueline Howard
NATO leader says alliance must stop Ukraine conflict from escalating
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance is determined to stop the war in Ukraine from escalating further,
"NATO has a responsibility to prevent this conflict from escalating further. That would be even more dangerous and cause more suffering, deaths and destruction," Mr Stoltenberg said.
By Jacqueline Howard
Further Russian air strikes on Mariupol
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s office says Russia carried out further airstrikes on Mariupol early on Thursday morning.
Mr Zelenskyy’s office did not report casualties for the latest strikes. They come amid rescue efforts to free survivors trapped in a bomb shelter in a theatre destroyed by a Russian airstrike.
“People are escaping from Mariupol by themselves using their own transport,” Mr Zelenskyy’s office said, adding the “risk of death remains high” because of Russian forces previously firing on civilians.
The presidential office also reported artillery and air strikes around the country overnight, including in the Kalynivka and Brovary suburbs of the capital, Kyiv. It said fighting continued as Russian forces tried to enter the Ukraine-held city of Mykolaiv in the south, and that there was an artillery barrage through the night in the eastern town of Avdiivka.
Ukraine says Russian forces are increasingly resorting to artillery and air strikes as their advance stalls.
The Ukrainian General Staff says “the enemy, without success in its ground operation, continues to carry out rocket and bomb attacks on infrastructure and highly populated areas of Ukrainian cities.”
By Jacqueline Howard
Kremlin dismisses US condemnation
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says US President Joe Biden's claim that President Vladimir Putin is a war criminal is unacceptable, and that the US has no right to lecture Russia after its involvement in so many conflicts.
Yesterday's comments from Mr Biden were the sharpest condemnation yet of Mr Putin and Russia's actions by a US official since the invasion of Ukraine.
By Jacqueline Howard
Before and after the bombing of the theatre in Mariupol
Rescuers in Mariupol are combing the rubble of the theatre where women and children had been sheltering, bombed by Russian forces the yesterday.
Russia denied striking the theatre, which commercial satellite pictures showed had the word "children" marked out on the ground in front before it was blown up.
By Kate Ainsworth
What remains of the Mariupol theatre
By Kate Ainsworth
Rubble being cleared to reach survivors of Mariupol theatre attack
Rescuers are trying to reach survivors in the bomb shelter of the theatre in Mariupol, an official at the mayor's office says.
Ukraine has accused Russian forces of dropping a powerful bomb on the theatre, where it says hundreds of civilians, mostly women and children were sheltering during a more than two-week-long siege of the encircled port city.
Russia has denied the attack.
"The bomb shelter held. Now the rubble is being cleared. There are survivors. We don’t know about the [number of] victims yet," mayoral adviser Petro Andrushchenko told Reuters by phone.
He said rescue work was under way to reach survivors and establish the number of casualties, which was still unknown.
Reporting by Reuters
By Kate Ainsworth
Hundreds of survivors after Mariupol theatre attack, MP says
A Ukrainian MP has told the BBC he thinks hundreds of women and children have survived an attack on a theatre which was being used as a shelter in the besieged city of Mariupol.
The theatre was attacked by Russian forces and the number of casualties is unknown, but survivors have begun to emerge.
Dmytro Gurin's parents are trapped in the city and he told the BBC survivors were safe in the building's basement.
"The [theatre] building is destroyed, we have more than 1,000 women and children in the bomb shelter, in the basement," he said.
"Minutes ago we had an information that the bomb shelter survived and people there survived.
"We don't know yet whether we have wounded people, or killed people. But it looks like most of them have survived and are OK."
By Kate Ainsworth
Zelenskyy accuses Germany of putting its economy before Ukraine's security
In an address to Germany’s parliament, Mr Zelenskyy criticised the German government’s support for the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project meant to bring natural gas from Russia.
Ukraine and other countries had opposed the project, warning that it endangered Ukrainian and European security.
Mr Zelenskyy also noted Germany’s hesitancy when it came to imposing some of the toughest sanctions on Russia for fear it could hurt the German economy.
He called on Germany not to let a "new wall" divide Europe, urging support for his country's membership of NATO and the European Union.
Reporting by The Associated Press
