Thread by @thetimes

Ukrainian authorities have said they believe up to 300 people had died in the Russian bombardment of a theatre in Mariupol where up to a thousand civilians were sheltering
thetimes.co.uk/article/ukrain…

“From eyewitnesses, information is emerging that about 300 people died in the Drama Theatre of Mariupol following strikes by a Russian aircraft,” the city council wrote on Telegram today

“Up until the very last moment, one does not want to believe this horror. But the words of those who were inside the building at the time of this terrorist act says the opposite”

Ukraine said efforts to dig people out of the ruins were hampered by relentless bombardment

For days, the government in the besieged city of Mariupol has been unable to give a casualty count for the attack, on March 16.

It was not clear whether emergency workers had finished excavating the theatre

The council made clear it was still not possible to determine the exact death toll, while the head of the UN human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, said her team could not verify the figure

thetimes.co.uk/article/surviv…