SW News: As fighting between Russian troops and Ukrainian soldiers supported by armed civilians rages in the besieged city of Mariupol, there are reports that a decades-old theatre that was being used as a bomb shelter has been shelled by Russians. Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said that the building complex sheltering almost 1,000 civilians was struck by shells and rockets. Although the number of casualties is yet to be ascertained, it is presumed that the death toll could be high.

“Another horrendous war crime in Mariupol. Massive Russian attack on the Drama Theater where hundreds of innocent civilians were hiding. The building is now fully ruined. Russians could not have known this was a civilian shelter,” the minister said on Twitter. “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,” said the foreign ministry.

In spite of solid proof of specific targeting of civilian facilities and residential areas by Russian troops, Moscow still denies the allegations. Kremlin has blamed the Azov Battalion, which is a right-leaning Ukrainian militia, for shelling the theater.

According to Human Rights Watch, at least 500 people had taken shelter inside the theater and they included pregnant women and children. There are allegations that the historic building was deliberately attacked by Russians and they are backed by the fact that the word ‘children’ was etched out in the ground on either side of the theater to warn Russian fighter jet pilots.

Meanwhile, the Russian onslaught has entered its fourth week and although Moscow has stepped up its offensive targeting several cities in Ukraine, the Kremlin is miffed that it failed to overrun Kyiv and other major cities within a few days. Russian troops were caught by surprise when Ukrainian soldiers and armed civilians put up a stiff resistance by resorting to urban warfare in which they have the upper hand.