A Mariupol theater in which hundreds of Ukrainian citizens were seeking refuge was destroyed despite refugees inscribing the word "children" outside the structure,

Hundreds of people stayed in Mariupol's bomb bunker when attackers bombed the theater. According to satellite photographs, people scrawled the word on both sides of the theater.

A Ukrainian official told People Magazine that more than 100 children died since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began on February 24.

Maxim Kach, a Mariupol municipal council official, told CNN that the country rescuers attempted to clear a pregnant woman from the wreckage.

UKRAINE-RUSSIA-CONFLICT-MARIUPOL
(Photo : EMRE CAYLAK/AFP via Getty Images)
Evacuees from Mariupol are seen upon arrival at the car park of a shopping centre on the outskirts of the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is now a registration centre for displaced people, on March 16, 2022. - Some 20,000 residents have been allowed to leave Mariupol through a humanitarian corridor agreed with Russian forces. But exhausted, shivering evacuees speak of harrowing escape journeys and rotting corpses littering the streets. Mariupol is facing a humanitarian catastrophe according to aid agencies, since heavy bombardment has left some 400,000 inhabitants with no running water or heating and food running short. More than 2,100 residents have been killed in Mariupol since the Russian invasion, according to city authorities.

Satellite photographs Show Russia 'Bombing' A Mariupol Theater With A 'Children' sign outside.

Satellite footage from March 14 circulating on social media reveals the word "Children" (Дети) inscribed in Russian on the ground in front of and behind the red-roofed theater.

Residents commonly read this sign on automobiles and other places during the battle, hoping that Russian soldiers would not fire on them.

When the Russian attack hit Mariupol, the Drama Theater is thought to have been hiding hundreds of civilians.

People were now being carried safely out of the shelter after hours of uncertainty, during which rescue personnel labored to remove rubble and debris, a Ukrainian member of parliament Sergiy Taruta claimed on Facebook.

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The number of persons who survived the attack inside the theater is yet unknown.

Damage to the Ukrainian cities of Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kharkiv and the destruction of many Russian helicopters at a Kherson airport can be seen in other satellite photographs from Maxar obtained by Space.com.

Outside of Chernihiv, photos reveal rocket launchers and self-propelled artillery, while additional equipment, ground personnel, and helicopters have been detected in southern Belarus.

On the Telegram chat service (via Sky News), Ukraine's Ombudswoman Ludmyla Denisova said: "The (theatre) building withstood the impact of a high-powered air bomb and protected the lives of people hiding in the bomb shelter."

Russian Invasion

Prior to Wednesday's raid, officials estimated that up to 1,000 men, women, and children sought refuge in the Drama Theatre's basement for safety purposes.

CNN said Ukraine's defense minister Oleksii Reznikov told the European Parliament on Thursday that the "monster" attacked the theater despite painting large signs spelling out "children" so that the plane's pilot could see the area.

According to The New York Times, a British intelligence analysis stated that Russian forces are not making much headway in their invasion of Ukraine, which is now in its fourth week.

In an intelligence assessment, Britain's Defense Ministry said that Russian forces had made little advance on land, sea, or air in recent days. Britain added that Russia continues to suffer enormous losses.

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