Even with Children Present... Russia Bombs Mariupol Theater, Hundreds Evacuated

Residential complex in Mariupol, Ukraine destroyed by indiscriminate bombing by Russian forces [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Changhwan Lee] Foreign media reported that Russian forces bombed a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of civilians, including children, had taken refuge.

On the 16th (local time), according to BBC and The New York Times (NYT), a senior official in Donetsk Province in southern Ukraine, where Mariupol is located, stated that hundreds of Mariupol citizens who had taken shelter from Russian attacks were staying inside the bombed theater building.

However, the airstrike caused significant damage, with most of the walls on both sides and the roof of the theater building collapsing. The number of casualties is not yet known.

The Mariupol City Council condemned the Russian military's bombing of the theater building in a statement, accusing, "Russian military aircraft dropped bombs on a building where hundreds of peaceful Mariupol citizens were hiding."

However, foreign media reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense denied the airstrike after these facts became known.

The Russian forces, which launched the invasion of Ukraine, have been besieging Mariupol for over two weeks, concentrating bombardment to capture this strategic stronghold connecting the Crimean Peninsula, forcibly annexed in 2014, and the eastern 'Donbas' region controlled by pro-Russian separatist rebels.

For this reason, until recently, not only military facilities but also civilian buildings such as hospitals, churches, and apartment buildings have been subjected to indiscriminate airstrikes.

Authorities in Mariupol report that at least 2,400 people have died since the outbreak of the war, and hundreds of thousands of citizens remain trapped in the city, which has become a ruin with cut-off water, electricity, and gas supplies.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.