Ukraine has accused Russia of bombing a theater in the city of Mariupol (southern Ukraine), where nearly a thousand people had taken refuge.
The building is destroyed and the human toll is not yet known. “It is impossible to establish the toll in the immediate future, because the shelling of residential areas continues,” said the town hall of Mariupol on Telegram.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, “the Russian air force deliberately dropped a bomb on the theater”. A photo taken by the American company Maxar Technologies, however, shows the word “CHILDREN” written in Russian and in white letters, in front and behind the theater, to deter the army from attacking the building. “I am heartbroken by Russia’s actions against my people,” Volodymyr Zelensky added.
Russia denies
For its part, the Russian Ministry of Defense denies having bombed the theater. They assure that it is an act of Azov, a Ukrainian nationalist battalion. Moscow had already blamed this military unit during the destruction of the Mariupol maternity hospital last week, which sparked an international outcry.
More than 2,000 civilians have died in Mariupol since the start of the Russian invasion, according to local authorities. “It is impossible to find the words to describe the level of cynicism and cruelty with which the Russian invaders are annihilating the peaceful inhabitants of the city”, denounced the town hall.
Russia carried out the invasion of Ukraine on February 24. Since then, more than three million people have fled the country, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Vladimir Putin, the Russian president, has called his military operation “a success”.