Russia bombs a school that served as a shelter for more than 400 people in Mariupol

the army of Russia bombed an art school that served as a shelter for several hundred people in the city of Mariupolin the southeast of Ukrainelocal authorities said on Sunday, adding that there were civilians trapped under the rubble.

“Yesterday (Saturday), the Russian occupiers dropped bombs on the G12 art school (…) where 400 residents of Mariupol –women, children and the elderly–”, declared the municipality of the port city besieged by Russian forces.

“We know that the building was destroyed and that peaceful people are still under the rubble. The number of victims is being clarified.”he added in a statement on Telegram.

Mariupola city in southeastern Ukraine which had 450,000 inhabitants before the war, has been the target of intense bombardment for several weeks by Russian forces and their pro-Russian separatist allies.

On Sunday, the governor of the region of DonetskPavlo Kirilenko, too accused Moscow of “forcibly deporting more than 1,000 residents of Mariupol” who live in the east of the city Russiawithout specifying when the events occurred.

According to him, Russian forces set up “filtering camps” where they “check the phones” of Mariupol residents before “confiscating their identity documents.” “Then they are sent to Russia”, he stated on Facebook, adding that “his fate on the other side (of the border) is unknown”.

These statements could not be immediately independently verified.

Thursday, Ukraine accused Moscow of bombing a city theater where hundreds of residents had taken refuge, ignoring the warning “Diéti” (“Children” in Russian) written on the ground in giant letters next to the building. No casualty report yet.

According to the Ukrainian government, more than 2,100 people have been killed in Mariupol since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.

The survivors take refuge in the basements, suffering multiple deficiencies. Some of the families who managed to flee said they saw bodies lying in the streets for days.

Inflicting “something like this on a peaceful city (…) is an act of terror that will be remembered even in the next century,” the Ukrainian president said on Sunday. Volodymyr Zelenskydenouncing a “war crime”.

The city is of strategic importance as its capture would allow Russia to unite its troops in Crimea with those in Donbas. (east), while blocking Ukrainian access to the Sea of ​​Azov.

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