This is how Mariupol theater was left after Russian bombing 2:37
Lviv, Ukraine (CNN) -
- About 300 people are believed to have been killed in a Russian attack on a theater in Mariupol nine days ago, the city council said, citing eyewitness reports.
The March 16 bombing of the Dramatic Theater in Mariupol, in which, according to the Ukrainian authorities, up to 1,300 people had taken refuge, was one of the most brazen attacks by Russia against the civilian population since its invasion began at the end of February.
On the floor of the building was painted, in giant Russian letters, the word "CHILDREN".
The message, large enough to be seen from the sky, was scrawled near a public square.
Russia has denied that its forces attacked the theatre, saying instead that the Azov battalion, the main Ukrainian army presence in Mariupol, blew it up.
Victims in Mariupol: they thought they would be safe in the theater, but then it was bombed
Announcing the update on its Telegram channel, the city council said: "Unfortunately, we started the day with bad news. There is information, based on eyewitnesses, that about 300 people were killed in the Mariupol Drama Theater as a result of a shelling from Russian aviation".
"We still don't want to believe in this horror. We still want to believe that everyone managed to escape. But the words of those inside the building at the time of this terrorist act say otherwise."
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Earlier this week, Petro Andriushchenko, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol, put the number of survivors of the attack at around 200.
"The occupant knew where he was hitting. He knew what the consequences could be, and the bombs fell on this place anyway," the council statement on Friday continued.
The theater was being used as one of the main shelters in Mariupol, which has been under heavy bombardment since the early days of the Russian assault on Ukraine.
Information about the full scope of the attack has been slow to emerge due to the almost complete disruption of essential services in the city, including communication networks.
Mariupol, a besieged city
The coastal city has been under siege for several weeks and has suffered some of the worst attacks of the war since Russia began its invasion of Ukraine in February.
No word yet on possible casualties following a separate attack on an art school building that was also being used as a shelter for up to 400 people.
Basic services such as gas, electricity and water do not work in the city.
Corpses are left on the street because there is no one to pick them up, or it is simply too dangerous to try.
Over the past week, Russian forces have deported thousands of Mariupol residents against their will to cities far from Russia, according to city officials and witnesses.
And on Monday, Moscow called on Mariupol to surrender, an idea Ukraine quickly rejected.
Russia has denied targeting civilians in Mariupol, blaming the casualties on Ukrainian forces.
Devastating aerial images show Mariupol "reduced to ashes"
Andriushchenko told CNN on Sunday that the battle for the city has made it impossible to recover and identify the dead, or treat the wounded.
In a video message posted on Facebook in the early hours of Sunday, Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said the siege of Mariupol would go down in history as a war crime.
"Doing this to a peaceful city ... is a terror that will be remembered for centuries," he added.
CNN's Eliza Mackintosh contributed to this report from Lviv, Ukraine.
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