Ukrainian officials in the strategic port city of Mariupol said Friday they feared 300 people could have died in last week's Russian strike on a theatre where hundreds were sheltering.
"From eyewitnesses, information is emerging that about 300 people died in the Drama Theatre of Mariupol following strikes by a Russian aircraft," Mariupol city hall wrote on Telegram.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said last week following the strike that hundreds of people, believed mostly to be women and children, had taken in the building at the time of the attack.
Mariupol city hall said Friday the theatre was destroyed in a "cynical" attack and claimed that Russia knew civilians were taking refuge in the building.
Zelensky says nearly 100,000 people are trapped without food, water or power in the besieged city and enduring fierce shelling by Russian forces.
The leader of Russia's southern republic of Chechnya said Thursday that forces from his region had taken control of Mariupol city hall and hoisted the Russian flag.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
US Urges India To "Utilize" Ties With Russia, Tell Putin To End Ukraine War Russia Should Attend Second Ukraine Summit, Says Zelensky Amid Raging War Russian, US Defence Chiefs Discuss Lowering Escalation Over Phone Call Trump's Vice President Pick Reveals How His Hindu Wife Helped Him "Someone Must Have Doubted...": Doctor On Trainee IAS Officer's Disability Claim Engineer Stole NEET Question Paper From Exam Body's Trunk, Arrested By CBI Vicky And Birthday Girl Katrina Unlock Core Memories In Adorable Ways Roberta Metsola Re-Elected As European Parliament Chief Jaro Education Works Closely With Senior Executives From Corporates To Build Future Leaders Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world.