This satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies on Saturday, March 19, 2022 shows the aftermath of the airstrike on the Mariupol Drama theater, Ukraine, and the area around it. (AP/PTI Photo)
The Associated Press
Ukrainian officials say the death toll from a strike on a theatre last week in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol is in the hundreds — the deadliest single attack since Russia’s war started a month ago.
During a nightly video address, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Ukrainians to keep up their resistance to Russia’s invading forces, insisting that his nation is “getting closer to victory” with every day.
Here are some key things to know about the Russia-Ukraine conflict:
What happened in Mariupol?
Local authorities in Mariupol reported on Friday that last week’s Russian airstrike on a theater that was used as bomb shelter killed 300 people.
The post on its Telegram channel cited eyewitnesses for the death toll of “about 300.” It was not immediately clear whether emergency workers had finished excavating the site or how the eyewitnesses arrived at the horrific death toll.
Before it was struck, an enormous inscription reading “CHILDREN” was posted outside the theatre in Russian, intended to be visible from the skies. More than 1,300 people had been sheltering in the building ahead of the March 16 attack.
What are western leaders doing?
Western nations continue to crank up the cost of war for Russian President Vladimir Putin. Germany’s economy minister said Friday that his country has forged contracts with new suppliers that will allow it to significantly reduce its reliance on Russian coal, gas and oil in the coming weeks.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov described Western efforts to sanction Russia internationally as “total war.” He said on Friday that the goal was “to destroy, break, annihilate, strangle the Russian economy, and Russia on the whole.”
What is Russia saying?
The deputy head of Russia’s military general staff says that 1,351 Russian soldiers have died in Ukraine. Col.-Gen. Sergei Rudskoi also said Friday that 3,825 have been wounded.
That’s far lower than NATO estimates from Wednesday that 7,000 to 15,000 Russian soldiers have been killed in four weeks of war in Ukraine. Also, the Russian figure didn’t appear to include the Moscow-backed separatists fighting in eastern Ukraine, and it was not clear whether the toll encompassed Russian forces not part of the Defense Ministry, such as the National Guard.
What has the war’s civilian toll been so far?
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Friday that since Russia’s invasion started, almost a quarter of Ukraine’s population — more than 10 million people — have been forced from their homes.
Disclaimer: This story is auto-generated from news agency feeds and has not been edited by The Morung Express.
Source: PTI/AP
