ANNIHILATED Russian bombs ‘destroy theatre with 1,200 civilians sheltering inside скачать в хорошем качестве

ANNIHILATED Russian bombs ‘destroy theatre with 1,200 civilians sheltering inside

A RUSSIAN bomb destroyed a theatre today in the besieged city of Mariupol where 1,200 terrified civilians have been sheltering, according to officials. The Mariupol Drama Theatre had been used as a safe haven from Russia's relentless shelling of the southern port city with meals being provided and people sleeping overnight.The continuous bombardment of Mariupol has forced around 20,000 Ukrainians to flee, while it's estimated more than 2,300 citizens have been killed in the area. The city's deputy mayor, Serhiy Orlov, said between 1,000 and 1,200 people were inside the theatre when it was targeted by the Russians. Rescuers are searching the wreckage for survivors but the number of casualties is not yet known. Ukrainian Parliament said on Twitter: "It is unknown how many people died under the rubble. Now there are fierce battles. No one can reach the blockages, we don't know if there are any survivors."It claimed the theatre's bomb shelter was buried under rubble. Mariupol City Council said it was "impossible to estimate the scale of this horrific and inhumane act". The city authorities said: "It is impossible to find words to describe the level of cynicism and cruelty, with which Russian invaders are destroying peaceful residents of a Ukrainian city by the sea." Pictures showed a pile of rubble with twisted metal and smoke rising from the ruins while videos showed blood soaked victims being rushed to hospital – and numerous bodies in the basement of the theatre. Another video showed smouldering vehicles and debris strewn across what appeared to be the theatre's car park.Footage posted online just five days ago showed the theatre packed with people sheltering from the onslaught of Russian shelling. Local MP Sergiy Taruta said the theatre had become a shelter “in which the residents of the blockaded Mariupol sought respite from the continuous shelling”. He feared many had been buried under the rubble and posted online: "There were a huge number of people hiding from the shelling. There is some fierce fighting going on right now. "Many Mariupol citizens were hiding in the theatre, with small children." Russia has reportedly denied it carried out the airstrike on the theatre. Mariupol has been under fire for more than two weeks and entire neighbourhoods have been turned into wasteland. a convoy of civilians evacuated from the city was hit by Russian rockets, according to Ukraine's armed forces. In a Facebook post, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said the civilians were fleeing when they were fired on by a BM-21 Grad multiple launch rocket system. The Zaporizhzhya local government said at least five people were injured - including a child who has been left in a critical condition. Russian soldiers have also taken hundreds of hospital staff and patients hostage at Mariupol Regional Intensive Care Hospital. The troops are said to be forcing nearby residents out of their homes and into the hospital after days of relentless Russian shelling. Mr Orlov said about 400 people are being stopped from leaving the city centre hospital. He told the BBC: “We received information that the Russian army captured our biggest hospital... and they’re using our patients and doctors like hostages. “We can confirm this information and also the governor of Donetsk region has confirmed this information. We received information that there are 400 people there." The Russian soldiers have reportedly threatened to shoot anyone who tries to escape. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said Mariupol was quickly running out of food and residents are struggling for water, heating and medicine.And Iryna Vereshchuk, Ukraine's deputy prime minister, said there were serious problems trying to deliver humanitarian aid to the desperate city of 430,000 people. She said a convoy filled with supplies was stuck at nearby Berdyansk. In a glimmer of hope, around 20,000 people have managed to flee the city by driving along a humanitarian corridor agreed with Russian forces. About 4,000 cars fled northwest to Zaporizhzhia in what is believed to be the biggest evacuation yet from Mariupol, according to Kyrylo Tymoshenko, a senior aide to Zelensky. But parents have been forced to leave their tiny premature babies behind at a hospital in the city as it's reported 103 children have been killed by merciless Russian troops. Amid frantic scenes as families try to escape, a devastating picture from the city's hospital number three shows three premature babies in a bed - left behind by their desperate parents. It comes after a pregnant woman and her unborn baby died after a Russian air strike destroyed a maternity hospital in Mariupol. A harrowing picture showed the mother being stretchered from the hospital and she later screamed "kill me, kill me" when she found her baby was lost - then died herself.