Ukraine says at least 300 civilians killed by Russian shelling of Mariupol theater

Some 300 refugees in the theater of the Ukrainian city of Mariupol They died in the Russian bombardment on March 16, local authorities have assured this Friday, based on the testimonies of the survivors.

“There is information from eyewitnesses that About 300 people died at the Mariupol Drama Theater as a result of the bombing by a Russian plane,” announced the Municipal Council of the city, surrounded by Russian forces, on its Telegram channel.

“We wanted to believe until the end that everyone was saved. But the words of those inside the building at the time of the terrorist attack say otherwise.”, continues the message.

Some 130 people were rescued alive from the air-raid shelter built under the theater of the port cityas reported last week by the Human Rights Commissioner of the Ukrainian Parliament, Liudmyla Denisova.

According to the Ukrainian authorities, in the basement of the theater used to take refuge between 1,000 and 2,000 peoplebut they have not been able to determine the number of people who were inside at the time of the bombing.

Therefore, the number of those who can still be found buried under the rubble is unknown.

Russian troops already control the eastern part of the city, which has been devastated by the fighting and in which some 100,000 inhabitants remain surrounded with hardly any water, electricity, and basic supplies such as food or medicine.

The Russian Defense Ministry blamed the destruction of the theater on Ukraine’s far-right Azov battalion, which it accused of blowing up the theater as a provocation, while Moscow said it bombed the building because fighters were hiding there.

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