The word “children” was spelled out on two sides of the theater before it was struck, according to satellite images.
In the nearby Ukrainian city of Chernihiv, at least 10 people queueing for bread were killed when Russian forces shelled it on Wednesday, a local official, Vyacheslav Chaus, told Ukrainian television. He said the attack was indicative of Russia’s use of indirect fire against civilians.
As the Russian assault intensifies, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Wednesday that Russia’s negotiating position in talks between the two countries was becoming “more realistic,” a sentiment reiterated by Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who suggested there was “a certain hope for reaching a compromise,” in a televised interview to Russian media outlet RBK.
But while the United States welcomes “the sentiments expressed that there is hope, that there is optimism for diplomatic progress,” it believes Russia must de-escalate for any such progress to actually be achieved, US State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Wednesday.
Deteriorating situation in ‘hell’ of Mariupol
Russian military strikes continue to bombard Mariupol, which has been besieged by Russian forces since the beginning of March.
Petro Andruishchenko, an adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, described the bombed theater as the largest shelter “in number and size” in the city’s center. “According to preliminary data, more than a thousand people were hiding there,” he said. “The probability of getting there to dismantle the rubble is low due to constant shelling and bombing of the city.”
The bombing adds to the city’s growing humanitarian crisis. About 350,000 people are trapped in the city and as many as 2,500 civilians have died, Ukrainian officials estimate….
Source : cnn
