This would be the deadliest attack on civilians in wartime history.
The bloodshed at the theater led to allegations Moscow was committing war crimes in killing civilians by using indiscriminate fire or deliberate killing.
In what could indicate a significant narrowing of Moscow’s war aims the U.S. stated that Russian forces have stopped, at least temporarily, their offensive to capture Kyiv and are now focusing more on capturing control of the Donbas area in the country’s southeast. This shift was confirmed by the Kremlin.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the Ukrainian President, appealed again to Russia for an end to the conflict. However, he pointed out that Ukraine wouldn’t agree to any territory being given up in the name of peace.
In a nightly video address, he stated that Ukraine’s territorial integrity should be protected. “That means that the conditions must be fair for the Ukrainian people to accept them.”
The Mariupol government could not give a casualty number for the March 16 bombardment of the Mariupol Drama Theater. There, hundreds of people were reported to have taken cover. To ward off aerial attacks, “CHILDREN” was printed in Russian in large white letters outside.
The city government announced Friday’s death toll via Telegram. It cited eyewitnesses. It was unclear how the number came to be or if emergency workers had completed excavating the ruins.
Jake Sullivan, the U.S. President’s national security advisor, stated that the theater bombing was “absolute shock”, especially considering it was a civilian target.
Soon after the attack, the Ukrainian Parliament’s human right commissioner stated that over 1,300 people had sought refuge in the theater. Many of these were fleeing their homes. The basement bomb shelter was available in the building, and some survivors were able to emerge from the rubble following the attack.
Mircea Geoana (NATO’s deputy-secretary General) stated that “This is barbaric warfare” and that deliberate attacks on civilians constitute war crimes.
He stated that Putin’s attempts to subdue Ukraine’s resistance are having the opposite effect. “What he is getting in return is an even stronger Ukrainian army and a more united West in support of Ukraine.”
The Russians are still pounding the capital from the air. However, they seem to have entered a “defensive posture” outside Kyiv and are now focusing more on the Donbas. A senior U.S. defense officer spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the Pentagon’s assessment.
The official stated that they didn’t appear to be willing to move on Kyiv from below.
According to Col.-Gen Sergei Rudskoi (deputy chief of the Russian General Staff), the main objective of the first stage, reducing Ukraine’s fighting capability, has been “generally achieved.” This allows Russian forces to concentrate on the “main goal,” liberation of Donbas.
The Donbas, a large part of Russia-speaking Ukraine’s eastern region, is where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces in 2014 and where many residents want close ties with Moscow. Russia recognizes the Donbas’ coal-mining, industrial Donetsk, and Luhansk areas as independent.
The Ministry of Defense of Britain stated that Ukrainian forces had been counterattacking and were able to reoccupy cities and defensive positions up 35 km (22 miles) east of Kyiv, as Russian troops retreated from their overextended supply routes. The ministry stated that logistical issues and resistance from Ukraine are slowing down the Russians in the south as they attempt to move west towards the port of Odesa.
According to a senior U.S. defense officer, Kherson is now under the control of the Russians. This was Kherson’s first major city to fall to Moscow’s troops. According to the official, the Ukrainians are fighting for control of the city’s southern part. The Kremlin denied that it had lost complete control.
According to the Russian military, 1,351 soldiers died in Ukraine while 3,825 were wounded. However, it was not clear whether that number included separatists in eastern Ukraine or other units not under the Defense Ministry such as the National Guard. NATO had earlier this week estimated that between 7,000 and 15,000 Russian soldiers were killed during the four weeks of fighting.
The misery of civilians in Ukraine is increasing. Cities and towns in the country are increasingly looking like the rubble that Russian forces left behind during their campaigns in Syria, Chechnya, and other parts of the world.
The village of Yasnohorodka is 50 km (30 miles) west Kyiv. Russian troops that were there earlier in week appear to have been expelled as part of a counteroffensive led by Ukrainian forces.
A blast damaged the tower of the village church, and the houses at the main crossroads were left in ruin.
“You can witness what happened here. Here, people were killed. Valeriy Puzakov, a Yasnohorodka resident, said that our soldiers were killed there.
Evgeniy Sokorovo said that Mariupol is gone. He was one of the many waiting to board an evacuation train in Zaporizhzhia for those fleeing the devastation. “In the past week, there were explosions like never before.”
Oksana Abramova (42), said that she felt sorry for the people left behind in the city. They have been cut off communication due to the bombardment of radio, cell and TV towers, and have no way to escape.
“All the while I think about where they are and how they are. Are they still alive, or hiding? She said they might not be there anymore.
Because so many of their relatives have moved away, the ashes of the deceased are accumulating at the main crematorium in Kyiv. Urns remain unclaimed. Authorities said that Chernihiv, the northern city, is almost cut off by Russian forces who destroyed bridges and left people without heat, power, or water.
Food shortages are threatening the lives of the most vulnerable, including the elderly and children who cannot travel westward with millions of others. This is a country that was once the breadbasket of the world.
Kharkiv was constantly being shelled. Hundreds of panicked civilians sought refuge in the subway.
As explosions thudded in distant distance, elderly women sat steadfastly waiting to get food and other urgent supplies. A young girl waited anxiously as a volunteer cut through a huge slab of cheese to create thick slices for each person.
Hanna Spitsyna stated that among those who stayed, there were people who could walk independently, but many who couldn’t walk, and the elderly. All these people require diapers, swaddle blankets, and food.