Russian forces have bombed Mariupol Art School, where 400 people were taking refuge. The attack destroyed the building, raising fears that people could remain under the rubble, according to Ukrainian officials.
Regional authorities have confirmed that the school has been destroyed and conveyed the possibility of survivors under the rubble.
But so far, officials have not given any figure on the number of casualties.
It came as several thousand people from Mariupol were deported to Russia by its soldiers. On Saturday, the city council informed that over the past week, several thousand Mariupol residents were deported onto the Russian territory.
Russia Deports People From Mariupol
Ukraine has maintained that the Russian forces deported people forcefully. The 'occupiers illegally' took people from the Livoberezhniy district and from the shelter in the sports club building, where more than a thousand people (mostly women and children) were hiding from the constant bombing, reported Daily Mail.
The Russian army dropped bombs on the G12 Art School in the Left Bank district of Mariupol. It is known that the building was destroyed and that there are still people under the rubble. (Channel 24) #Ukraineï¸ #UkraineRussiaWar pic.twitter.com/cklq8vY6ZI
— Abelardo Vázquez (@Abelard0Vazquez) March 20, 2022
'The occupiers illegally took people from the Livoberezhniy district and from the shelter in the sports club building, where more than a thousand people (mostly women and children) were hiding from the constant bombing.'
Russian Defence Ministry has also informed that buses carrying several hundred people have been arriving in Russia from Mariupol in recent days.
One more war crime in Mariupol.
— Vyacheslav Rushnyk (@nemapovnovazhen) March 20, 2022
Russian occupiers dropped a bomb on an Art School where about 400 civilians were hiding.
The building was destroyed.
Information about the number of victims is being clarified says the Mariupol City Council. pic.twitter.com/r74UpK7w6g
On Saturday, 13 buses carrying over 350 people were moving to Russia. Refugees are to be sent to the Yaroslavl Region and the rest to temporary transition centers in Taganrog.
‼ï¸Russian troops struck another bomb shelter in #Mariupol🇺🇦, Unian reports
— 🇺🇦Paula Chertok🗽🇺🇦 (@PaulaChertok) March 20, 2022
Russia dropped bombs on Mariupol’s Art School sheltering ~400 women, children & elderly. The building’s been destroyed, civilians remain under the rubble. Information on the number of casualties unknown. pic.twitter.com/Zi89ar40o3
Russia had earlier prepared 200 buses to evacuate people from Mariupol. In recent weeks, nearly 3,00,000 people have entered Russia from Donbas and Mariupol regions.
Zelensky Warns Over Siege of Mariupol
The siege of Mariupol has angered Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and he has said that the siege of the port city was a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come. "The siege of Mariupol would go down in the history of responsibility for war crimes."
He also noted that Russia's military isn't even recovering the bodies of its soldiers in some places. "In places where there were especially fierce battles, the bodies of Russian soldiers simply pile up along our line of defense. And no one is collecting these bodies."
