More than a day after the airstrike, there were no reports of deaths. “We hope and we think that some people who stayed in the shelter under the theatre could survive,” Petro Andrushchenko, an official with the mayor’s office, told The Associated Press.
Satellite imagery on Monday from Maxar technology showed huge white letters on the pavement in front of and behind the theatre spelling out “CHILDREN” in Russian — “DETI” — to alert warplanes to those inside. The city council said hundreds of people, mostly women, children and the elderly, had been hiding in the theatre and a nearby swimming pool building because of heavy shelling.Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that the allegation that Russia had bombed the theatre was a “lie”, and repeated Kremlin denials that Russian forces have targeted civilians since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.
At least 21 people were killed when Russian artillery destroyed a school and a community centre before dawn in Merefa, near the northeast city of Kharkiv, according to Mayor Veniamin Sitov. The region has seen heavy bombardment in a bid by stalled Russian forces to advance.