A military instructor teaches civilians holding wooden replicas of Kalashnikov rifles, during a training session at an abandoned factory in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv on January 30, 2022. - As fears grow of a potential invasion by Russian troops massed on Ukraine's border, within the framework of the training there were classes on tactics, paramedics, training on the obstacle course. The training is conducted by instructors with combat experience, members of the public initiative "Total Resistance". (Photo by Sergei SUPINSKY / AFP)

Shells hit theatre sheltering Ukraine civilians, Biden calls Putin a war criminal

By Kashmir Age Online On Mar 17, 2022

International outrage over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine grew on Thursday as U.S. and Ukrainian officials said civilians waiting in line for bread and sheltering in a theatre had been killed by Russian forces, reported Reuters.

U.S. President Joe Biden called Russian leader Vladimir Putin a war criminal in comments the Kremlin said were “unforgivable” as it insisted the war in Ukraine was “going to plan” amid talk of compromise at peace talks.

Moscow has yet to capture any of Ukraine’s biggest cities despite the largest assault on a European state since World War Two. More than 3 million Ukrainians have fled and thousands have died as the war enters its fourth week.

Ukraine’s foreign ministry said Russian forces dropped a powerful bomb on a theatre in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol, leaving many civilians trapped and an unknown number of casualties. Reuters could not independently verify the information.

Maxar Technologies, a private U.S. company, distributed satellite imagery it said was collected on March 14 and showed the word “children” in large Russian script painted on the ground outside the red-roofed building.

The theatre had been housing at least 500 civilians, according to Human Rights Watch.

“This raises serious concerns about what the intended target was in a city where civilians have already been under siege for days and telecommunications, power, water, and heating have been almost completely cut off,” Belkis Wille from the rights group said.

Moscow denies targeting civilians and Russia’s defence ministry said its forces had not struck the building, RIA news agency said.

The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said Russian forces had shot dead 10 people waiting in line for bread in Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv. Russia denied the attack and said the incident was a hoax.

The United Nations’ top court for disputes between states ordered Russia on Wednesday to immediately halt its military operations in Ukraine, saying it was “profoundly concerned” by Moscow’s use of force.