The Russian military bombed an art school in the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol where hundreds of refugees were sheltering, according to the city’s council.
The Mariupol City Council on Sunday accused Russia of destroying the art school where 400 residents had taken shelter the day before. No casualties have been confirmed so far, though authorities said people could be under the rubble, The Associated Press reported.
Mariupol, situated in the southeastern region of Ukraine, has been besieged by Russian forces for the past few weeks. Last week, about 130 people were rescued from a theater in Mariupol that had been bombed. According to authorities, the word “children” had been written on the sides of the building.
Both the U.S. and Ukraine have condemned Russia’s actions in Mariupol as war crimes. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the onslaught of Russian soldiers in the city would go down in history as war crimes in a video address, the AP noted.
The Mariupol City Council on Saturday accused Russia of forcing thousands of city residents into Russia, with Mayor Vadym Boichenko comparing it to the actions of Nazis.
“What the occupiers are doing today is familiar to the older generation, who saw the horrific events of World War II, when the Nazis forcibly captured people,” Boichenko said. “It is hard to imagine that in the 21st century people can be forcibly taken to another country.”