Officials: Mariupol theater serving as shelter blocked by rubble after Russian strike

KYIV, Ukraine — Ukrainian officials say the status of people sheltering in a theater in Mariupol is still uncertain because the entrance was under the rubble caused by a Russian airstrike.

Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk regional administration, says on Telegram that “several hundred” residents of Mariupol were sheltering in the Drama Theater. He rejects the claims by the Russian military that the Azov battalion was headquartered in the theater, stressing that “only civilians” were in it when it was struck.

Kyrylenko says the airstrike also hit the Neptune swimming pool complex. “Now there are pregnant women and women with children under the rubble there. It’s pure terrorism!” the official says.

At least as recently as Monday, the pavement outside the once-elegant theater was marked with huge white letters spelling out “CHILDREN” in Russian, according to images released by the Maxar space technology company.

The words "children" were written in Russian outside the Mariupol Drama Theater before it was bombed today by Russian forces. Local authorities and media said the building had been used as a shelter for hundreds of Ukrainian civilians. ????: @Maxar pic.twitter.com/1blPSY9UaE

— Christopher Miller (@ChristopherJM) March 16, 2022