Mariupol, Ukraine, in the wake of an attack during the Russian invasion.Photo: EyePress News/Shutterstock
As rescue workers in Mariupol, Ukraine, have pulled survivors from thewreckage of the besieged city’s theater, where civilians sheltered before apparent Russian bombs hit on Wednesday, Italy’s minister of culture said his country will help rebuild the edifice “as soon as possible.”
“Italy is ready to rebuild the Theatre of #Mariupol. The cabinet of Ministers has approved my proposal to offer #Ukraine the resources and means to rebuild it as soon as possible,” Dario Franceschiniwrote on Twitter on Thursday. “Theaters of all countries belong to the whole humanity #worldheritage.”
Officials have said hundreds of civilians sought safety in the theater asinvading Russian forcesdevastated the city of Mariupol, where residents resorted toburying their dead in a mass graveon the outskirts of town.
The word “children” was written in Russian outside two sides of the building. But that was not enough to prevent an attack from above.
Alamy
The Ukrainian parliament’s human rights commissioner, Liudmyla Denisova, said Friday that 130 survivors had been rescued from the rubble so far, according to reports.
“There are still more than 1,300 people there who are in these basements, in that bomb shelter,” Denisova said,citing data from Ukrainian officials. “We pray that all of them will be alive, but at the moment there is no information about them.”
“The bomb strike demolished the central part of the theatre building, causing large numbers of people to be buried under the debris,” Ukraine’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in its initial report. “The assessment of the exact number of persons affected is currently impossible due to ongoing shelling.”
Denisova, the human rights commissioner,called the attack"an act of genocide and a terrible crime against humanity."
Russia has denied bombing the theater in Mariupol and targeting civilians across Ukraine.
The fighting in Ukraine continues some three weeks after Russian forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.
A theater in Mariupol, Ukraine.EyePress News/Shutterstock
More than 3 million people have fled Ukraine since the fighting began, the United Nations says.
With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Ukraine PresidentVolodymyr Zelenskyycalled for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.
Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend.
“Nobody is going to break us, we’re strong, we’re Ukrainians,“he told the European Unionin a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, “Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness.”
source: people.com
