A Ukrainian theatre sheltering over a thousand people was targeted in a bombing, despite people carving the word 'children' into the ground outside. The theatre in the heart of the besieged city of Mariupol was destroyed in the attack on Wednesday, while the death toll and number of casualties remains unknown.
Days before the shelling, satellite pictures show the Russian word for 'children' written in huge letters at both ends of the building, as those sheltering inside desperately tried to protect the theatre from being attacked. However, despite these pleas, Russian forces "deliberately and cynically destroyed" the building, according to a statement from Mariupol's city council.
On Thursday morning, a member of Parliament from Mariupol said that there was "information that the bomb shelter survived and people there survived". MP Dmytro Gurin added: "We don’t know yet whether we have wounded people, or killed people. But it looks like most of them have survived and are OK." However, with the shelter covered in rubble, officials are struggling to reach the civilians trapped inside.
