Russian forces dropped a heavy bomb on Mariupol’s drama theatre where almost a thousand civilians were taking cover, according to the Ukrainian military. The number of people killed and injured is currently unknown.
Both the Mariupol City Council and the Azov Regiment confirmed the military’s report.
The theatre had become designated as a shelter for people who had lost their homes and had nowhere else to go.
“The occupiers knew this because it was an officially designated place,” said Azov.
According to satellite imagery the word “children” was written in Russian at both entrances to the theatre.
“Russian troops knowingly and cynically destroyed the theatre at the centre of Mariupol. A plane dropped a bomb on the building where hundreds of peaceful residents of Mariupol were taking cover. It is impossible to estimate the scale of this horrific and inhumane act because there is continued shelling in the area. What is clear is that after the bombing the central part of the theatre was destroyed and the entrance to the bomb shelter in the building was destroyed. It is impossible to put into words the level of cruelty and cynicism with which the Russian occupiers are destroying the civilian population of this Ukrainian city by the sea. Clearly the only goal of the Russian army is the genocide of the Ukrainian people,” said city authorities.