Ukraine official says 130 rescued from Mariupol theater, but fate of 1,300 others remains unknown
A Ukrainian official said 130 people have been rescued alive from a bombed theater in Mariupol — although the fate of an estimated 1,300 others who had been sheltering there remained unknown Friday.
The figures, which could not be independently verified, are the first concrete details about the number of survivors rescued from the theater, which Ukrainian officials say was devastated by a Russian airstrike Wednesday.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudswoman, Lyudmyla Denisova, told Ukrainian television that, according to her data, more than 1,300 people who were sheltering in a bomb shelter below the theater remain unaccounted for.
The results of the bombing of Mariupol’s Drama Theater are “difficult to say,” she added in a video posted to her Telegram channel.
More live updates here
A Ukrainian official said 130 people have been rescued alive from a bombed theater in Mariupol — although the fate of an estimated 1,300 others who had been sheltering there remained unknown Friday.
The figures, which could not be independently verified, are the first concrete details about the number of survivors rescued from the theater, which Ukrainian officials say was devastated by a Russian airstrike Wednesday.
Ukraine’s human rights ombudswoman, Lyudmyla Denisova, told Ukrainian television that, according to her data, more than 1,300 people who were sheltering in a bomb shelter below the theater remain unaccounted for.
The results of the bombing of Mariupol’s Drama Theater are “difficult to say,” she added in a video posted to her Telegram channel.
More live updates here
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Our video highlights and what we know at the end of day 23 of the war in Ukraine:
- Ukrainian officials said Friday that Russian missiles struck an aircraft repair facility near an airport in Lviv, a western city near Poland, sowing fears of new fronts opening.
- In Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said roughly 1,300 people remained trapped in the basement of a theater struck by Russia on Wednesday. About 130 people survived and were able to leave what had been serving as a civilian shelter.
- In the absence of major territorial advances, Russia is increasingly relying on sieges and unguided “dumb” bombs to wear down cities and civilians. The United Nations has confirmed 816 civilian deaths, including the deaths of 59 children, while warning that the real tolls are almost certainly far higher.
More live updates here:
- Ukrainian officials said Friday that Russian missiles struck an aircraft repair facility near an airport in Lviv, a western city near Poland, sowing fears of new fronts opening.
- In Mariupol, Ukrainian officials said roughly 1,300 people remained trapped in the basement of a theater struck by Russia on Wednesday. About 130 people survived and were able to leave what had been serving as a civilian shelter.
- In the absence of major territorial advances, Russia is increasingly relying on sieges and unguided “dumb” bombs to wear down cities and civilians. The United Nations has confirmed 816 civilian deaths, including the deaths of 59 children, while warning that the real tolls are almost certainly far higher.
More live updates here:
Biden reaches out to China’s Xi on Ukraine
President Biden, in a nearly two-hour video call Friday, warned China’s leader Xi Jinping that his country would face significant repercussions if it provides aid to Russia at a time when Moscow is pressing ahead with an invasion of Ukraine that has been met with global condemnation.
Biden “described the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia as it conducts brutal attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians,” the White House said in a statement.
The call was part of an urgent U.S. effort to head off any Chinese moves to provide economic or military help to Russia as America and its allies try to shut down Moscow’s financial lifelines. At a time when many Western countries have imposed tough sanctions on Russia, China remains one of its few potentially powerful sources of support.
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President Biden, in a nearly two-hour video call Friday, warned China’s leader Xi Jinping that his country would face significant repercussions if it provides aid to Russia at a time when Moscow is pressing ahead with an invasion of Ukraine that has been met with global condemnation.
Biden “described the implications and consequences if China provides material support to Russia as it conducts brutal attacks against Ukrainian cities and civilians,” the White House said in a statement.
The call was part of an urgent U.S. effort to head off any Chinese moves to provide economic or military help to Russia as America and its allies try to shut down Moscow’s financial lifelines. At a time when many Western countries have imposed tough sanctions on Russia, China remains one of its few potentially powerful sources of support.
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Inside the transfer of foreign military equipment to Ukrainian soldiers
ON THE POLAND-UKRAINE BORDER — There were no passport officers on the dirt road, no customs lane, no signs marking this isolated patch of farmland for what it has become: a clandestine gateway for military supplies entering Ukraine.
“No pictures, no pictures,” shouted a Polish border guard as a convoy of 17 trucks hissed to a halt on a biting morning this week.
Not far from here was a Ukrainian military base where at least 35 people had been killed a few days earlier by a Russian missile barrage, and no one wanted to call attention to this ad hoc border crossing.
Washington Post journalists were given permission to observe the delivery on the condition that they turn off the geolocation function on their cameras.
Read the full story here:
ON THE POLAND-UKRAINE BORDER — There were no passport officers on the dirt road, no customs lane, no signs marking this isolated patch of farmland for what it has become: a clandestine gateway for military supplies entering Ukraine.
“No pictures, no pictures,” shouted a Polish border guard as a convoy of 17 trucks hissed to a halt on a biting morning this week.
Not far from here was a Ukrainian military base where at least 35 people had been killed a few days earlier by a Russian missile barrage, and no one wanted to call attention to this ad hoc border crossing.
Washington Post journalists were given permission to observe the delivery on the condition that they turn off the geolocation function on their cameras.
Read the full story here:
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukrainian forces continued to put up a defiant defense of their country’s cities, limiting Russian ground advances as the Kremlin’s invasion enters its 24th day.
- Major population centers such as Kyiv and Kharkiv remain in Ukrainian hands and Russia’s troops are still “stalled across the country,” the Pentagon said, even as it cautioned that Moscow retains 90 percent of its assembled combat power.
- The United Nations said Friday that roughly 9.8 million people have either fled Ukraine or are internally displaced as a result of the fighting, while 12 million are stranded or otherwise face dangerous living conditions.
More live updates here
- Ukrainian forces continued to put up a defiant defense of their country’s cities, limiting Russian ground advances as the Kremlin’s invasion enters its 24th day.
- Major population centers such as Kyiv and Kharkiv remain in Ukrainian hands and Russia’s troops are still “stalled across the country,” the Pentagon said, even as it cautioned that Moscow retains 90 percent of its assembled combat power.
- The United Nations said Friday that roughly 9.8 million people have either fled Ukraine or are internally displaced as a result of the fighting, while 12 million are stranded or otherwise face dangerous living conditions.
More live updates here
Evacuees from besieged Mariupol describe horrors of Russian attacks
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — Traumatized residents from Mariupol, Ukraine, arrived in a nonstop stream of cars at a humanitarian aid station on Friday, describing urban fighting and devastation as Ukrainian forces appeared to lose their grip on parts of the battered city.
They arrived in a near-constant convoy in the city of Zaporizhzhia, 140 miles to the northwest, their vehicles marked with white flags and signs reading “children” in the hope that it would spare them from attack.
Some families drove cars with their windshields smashed out or shattered from the force of explosions near their homes. One car, struck in a rocket attack, looked as if it had defied the odds by being able to move at all, one side completely punched in by the impact.
But with vehicles the only way out, anything that could move was put to use. Some cars were crammed with eight or nine people.
Read the full story here
ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — Traumatized residents from Mariupol, Ukraine, arrived in a nonstop stream of cars at a humanitarian aid station on Friday, describing urban fighting and devastation as Ukrainian forces appeared to lose their grip on parts of the battered city.
They arrived in a near-constant convoy in the city of Zaporizhzhia, 140 miles to the northwest, their vehicles marked with white flags and signs reading “children” in the hope that it would spare them from attack.
Some families drove cars with their windshields smashed out or shattered from the force of explosions near their homes. One car, struck in a rocket attack, looked as if it had defied the odds by being able to move at all, one side completely punched in by the impact.
But with vehicles the only way out, anything that could move was put to use. Some cars were crammed with eight or nine people.
Read the full story here
Mixed signals from Ukraine’s president and his aides leave West confused about his end game
The mounting death toll in Ukraine has forced President Zelensky to consider concessions to Russia in order to bring an end to the devastating conflict, but the specific elements of any peace deal his government may be discussing with Moscow remain a mystery to Western leaders, said U.S. and European officials.
The secretive rounds of meetings between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators could hold the key to ending the conflict but also carry broader implications for European security depending on how the warring parties settle their differences. If Putin can use military force to compel political change in Ukraine, he could use the same tactic elsewhere, officials fear.
The prospects of a near-term deal look bleak, diplomats say, but mixed signals from Zelensky about how close he is to striking an agreement have only heightened anxiety about the trajectory of the negotiations.
Read the full story here
The mounting death toll in Ukraine has forced President Zelensky to consider concessions to Russia in order to bring an end to the devastating conflict, but the specific elements of any peace deal his government may be discussing with Moscow remain a mystery to Western leaders, said U.S. and European officials.
The secretive rounds of meetings between Russian and Ukrainian negotiators could hold the key to ending the conflict but also carry broader implications for European security depending on how the warring parties settle their differences. If Putin can use military force to compel political change in Ukraine, he could use the same tactic elsewhere, officials fear.
The prospects of a near-term deal look bleak, diplomats say, but mixed signals from Zelensky about how close he is to striking an agreement have only heightened anxiety about the trajectory of the negotiations.
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Our video highlights and what we know at the end of day 24 of the war in Ukraine:
Ukrainian forces appeared to be losing their grip Saturday on Mariupol, with Russian forces advancing farther into parts of the besieged southern port city.
Fierce fighting for control of the strategically important city continued to hinder search and rescue efforts for hundreds of civilians believed trapped beneath the rubble of a theater after Russia bombed it Wednesday.
Other major population centers, including Kyiv and Kharkiv, remained in Ukrainian hands, as the Pentagon estimated that Russia’s troops were “stalled across the country.”
More live updates here:
Ukrainian forces appeared to be losing their grip Saturday on Mariupol, with Russian forces advancing farther into parts of the besieged southern port city.
Fierce fighting for control of the strategically important city continued to hinder search and rescue efforts for hundreds of civilians believed trapped beneath the rubble of a theater after Russia bombed it Wednesday.
Other major population centers, including Kyiv and Kharkiv, remained in Ukrainian hands, as the Pentagon estimated that Russia’s troops were “stalled across the country.”
More live updates here:
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Russia’s “continued failure” to gain control of the air has “significantly blunted” its operational progress, British defense intelligence officials said. Satellite images show Russian forces digging in to maintain defensive positions around Kyiv's periphery as Kremlin efforts to seize the capital continue to be frustrated by Ukrainian resistance.
- In a video address to Swiss lawmakers, President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to the government for a “full freeze of all accounts of those who unleashed this war,” calling out Swiss food giant Nestlé for continuing to do business in Russia.
- More than 6,600 people made it through humanitarian corridors in Ukraine on Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
- About 1.5 million children have fled Ukraine in the three weeks since Russia’s invasion, UNICEF said Saturday, and they face heightened risk of being trafficked or exploited.
More live updates here
- Russia’s “continued failure” to gain control of the air has “significantly blunted” its operational progress, British defense intelligence officials said. Satellite images show Russian forces digging in to maintain defensive positions around Kyiv's periphery as Kremlin efforts to seize the capital continue to be frustrated by Ukrainian resistance.
- In a video address to Swiss lawmakers, President Volodymyr Zelensky appealed to the government for a “full freeze of all accounts of those who unleashed this war,” calling out Swiss food giant Nestlé for continuing to do business in Russia.
- More than 6,600 people made it through humanitarian corridors in Ukraine on Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said.
- About 1.5 million children have fled Ukraine in the three weeks since Russia’s invasion, UNICEF said Saturday, and they face heightened risk of being trafficked or exploited.
More live updates here
Ukrainian officials say Russian forces bombed art school with 400 inside
The city council of Mariupol, in the southeast of Ukraine, alleged on Sunday that Russian armed forces bombed an arts school that was sheltering 400 residents.
The council said in a post on Telegram that women, children and elderly people had taken refuge inside Art School No. 12 in the Left Bank district of eastern Mariupol. It said the building was destroyed on Saturday and civilians “are still under the rubble,” but it did not say whether anyone had died.
“Information on the number of victims is being clarified,” it added.
The Washington Post could not independently verify the council’s claims. Mariupol has been surrounded by Russian armed forces for weeks. Access to food, water and medicine has been limited, and efforts to evacuate civilians have worked only intermittently amid heavy Russian shelling.
More live updates here
The city council of Mariupol, in the southeast of Ukraine, alleged on Sunday that Russian armed forces bombed an arts school that was sheltering 400 residents.
The council said in a post on Telegram that women, children and elderly people had taken refuge inside Art School No. 12 in the Left Bank district of eastern Mariupol. It said the building was destroyed on Saturday and civilians “are still under the rubble,” but it did not say whether anyone had died.
“Information on the number of victims is being clarified,” it added.
The Washington Post could not independently verify the council’s claims. Mariupol has been surrounded by Russian armed forces for weeks. Access to food, water and medicine has been limited, and efforts to evacuate civilians have worked only intermittently amid heavy Russian shelling.
More live updates here
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Our video highlights and what we know at the end of day 24 of the war in Ukraine:
- Russian forces are now present in all civilian neighborhoods in Ukraine’s strategic port city of Mariupol, where the battle for control has descended into house-to-house guerrilla warfare, Ukrainian military and city officials said Sunday.
- Seven humanitarian corridors were established in Ukraine on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. On Saturday, 4,000 people fled Mariupol, where about 39,000 residents have been able to leave over the past week, according to the city council.
- A senior Biden administration official on Sunday ruled out any U.S. military participation in a proposed NATO peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, as heads of state prepare for a planned alliance summit this week.
More live updates here
- Russian forces are now present in all civilian neighborhoods in Ukraine’s strategic port city of Mariupol, where the battle for control has descended into house-to-house guerrilla warfare, Ukrainian military and city officials said Sunday.
- Seven humanitarian corridors were established in Ukraine on Sunday, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk said. On Saturday, 4,000 people fled Mariupol, where about 39,000 residents have been able to leave over the past week, according to the city council.
- A senior Biden administration official on Sunday ruled out any U.S. military participation in a proposed NATO peacekeeping mission in Ukraine, as heads of state prepare for a planned alliance summit this week.
More live updates here
Here is the latest from Ukraine:
- Ukraine's deputy prime minister rejected the Kremlin's calls to surrender Mariupol by Monday morning amid a bloody onslaught that has descended into intense street fighting.
- The Russian military is approaching a stalemate in many other parts of the country, including outside Kyiv, where munitions struck a shopping center and an apartment complex Sunday. Military experts have expressed concern that the Kremlin will turn to increasingly deadlier missile strikes on Ukrainian cities to compensate for its lack of battlefield progress.
- U.S. President Biden will travel to Europe this week for a summit with other NATO leaders to discuss the war, as well as to Poland to meet with President Andrzej Duda. Poland has floated the idea of creating a peacekeeping force in Ukraine, stemming from NATO or some other organization. A senior Biden administration official on Sunday ruled out any U.S. military participation in a peacekeeping mission.
More live updates here
- Ukraine's deputy prime minister rejected the Kremlin's calls to surrender Mariupol by Monday morning amid a bloody onslaught that has descended into intense street fighting.
- The Russian military is approaching a stalemate in many other parts of the country, including outside Kyiv, where munitions struck a shopping center and an apartment complex Sunday. Military experts have expressed concern that the Kremlin will turn to increasingly deadlier missile strikes on Ukrainian cities to compensate for its lack of battlefield progress.
- U.S. President Biden will travel to Europe this week for a summit with other NATO leaders to discuss the war, as well as to Poland to meet with President Andrzej Duda. Poland has floated the idea of creating a peacekeeping force in Ukraine, stemming from NATO or some other organization. A senior Biden administration official on Sunday ruled out any U.S. military participation in a peacekeeping mission.
More live updates here
Slovenia will ‘soon’ send diplomats back to Kyiv, prime minister says
The prime minister of Slovenia said his country would send diplomats back to Ukraine’s capital “soon,” even as Russian forces close in.
“They are volunteers,” tweeted Prime Minister Janez Jansa. “We are working to make [the European Union] do the same.” He said Ukraine “needs direct diplomatic support.”
Jansa was one of three European heads of government who traveled to Kyiv last week to meet with President Zelensky. Observers called the trip risky, even as approaching Russian forces seemed to have stalled outside the capital.
Late Sunday, explosions rocked Kyiv's Podilskyi district after Russian forces bombed a mall, burying several people in rubble.
Some countries, including the United States, pulled embassy staffers from Kyiv before Russia launched its full-scale invasion, worried about diplomats’ safety as the situation escalated.
More live updates here
The prime minister of Slovenia said his country would send diplomats back to Ukraine’s capital “soon,” even as Russian forces close in.
“They are volunteers,” tweeted Prime Minister Janez Jansa. “We are working to make [the European Union] do the same.” He said Ukraine “needs direct diplomatic support.”
Jansa was one of three European heads of government who traveled to Kyiv last week to meet with President Zelensky. Observers called the trip risky, even as approaching Russian forces seemed to have stalled outside the capital.
Late Sunday, explosions rocked Kyiv's Podilskyi district after Russian forces bombed a mall, burying several people in rubble.
Some countries, including the United States, pulled embassy staffers from Kyiv before Russia launched its full-scale invasion, worried about diplomats’ safety as the situation escalated.
More live updates here
White House believes Russia is seeing a big drop in oil sales, imperiling key source of funding
Senior Biden aides believe that Russia is suffering a dramatic decline in oil sales that stands to deprive the Kremlin of a key source of government revenue, according to a senior administration official and one person briefed by a senior administration official, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to share an assessment not yet made public.
The Biden administration is examining private industry data showing that sales of Russian crude oil by vessel went from roughly 2 million barrels a day to close to zero between March 15 and March 20, the people said.
The official said that more than 2 million barrels of Russian oil sold per day have been taken out of the market and that Asian buyers are not stepping in to fully fill the gap.
Read the full story here
Senior Biden aides believe that Russia is suffering a dramatic decline in oil sales that stands to deprive the Kremlin of a key source of government revenue, according to a senior administration official and one person briefed by a senior administration official, both of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to share an assessment not yet made public.
The Biden administration is examining private industry data showing that sales of Russian crude oil by vessel went from roughly 2 million barrels a day to close to zero between March 15 and March 20, the people said.
The official said that more than 2 million barrels of Russian oil sold per day have been taken out of the market and that Asian buyers are not stepping in to fully fill the gap.
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Our video highlights and what we know at the end of day 25 of the war in Ukraine
- President Zelensky remained defiant Monday, saying he would never agree to an ultimatum from Russia or surrender Ukraine’s cities, even as the Kremlin continued its bombardment of the capital, the coast and elsewhere.
- In Kyiv, an attack on a shopping mall late Sunday reduced much of the area to rubble, killing at least eight people and leaving civilians on edge. The capital remains one of Moscow’s primary targets.
- Ukrainian officials said seven of the eight humanitarian corridors for Ukrainians fleeing violence operated successfully Monday, allowing just over 8,000 people to evacuate, most from Mariupol and the Kyiv region.
- Ukrainians have grown more confident in their country’s ability to repel Russia’s invasion, according to a new poll that found 91 percent of Ukrainian respondents believe Ukraine will emerge victorious from the war.
More live updates here
- President Zelensky remained defiant Monday, saying he would never agree to an ultimatum from Russia or surrender Ukraine’s cities, even as the Kremlin continued its bombardment of the capital, the coast and elsewhere.
- In Kyiv, an attack on a shopping mall late Sunday reduced much of the area to rubble, killing at least eight people and leaving civilians on edge. The capital remains one of Moscow’s primary targets.
- Ukrainian officials said seven of the eight humanitarian corridors for Ukrainians fleeing violence operated successfully Monday, allowing just over 8,000 people to evacuate, most from Mariupol and the Kyiv region.
- Ukrainians have grown more confident in their country’s ability to repel Russia’s invasion, according to a new poll that found 91 percent of Ukrainian respondents believe Ukraine will emerge victorious from the war.
More live updates here
Here is the latest from Ukraine.
- Russia has used hypersonic missiles in Ukraine, President Biden confirmed Monday, a move he suggested was in response to Moscow’s stalled ground campaign. Russia said last week that it had twice launched the missiles, which travel faster than five times the speed of sound and haven’t previously been used in combat.
- Satellite images released Monday offer a bird’s-eye view of the destruction in Mariupol, showing large swaths of bombed-out neighborhoods, with gray and black smoke marking smoldering ruins. The port city has refused to surrender despite weeks of bombardment.
- Biden warned Putin could seek to escalate the war by using biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine, though he did not provide evidence. The Pentagon also said it has detected “increased naval activity” in the northern Black Sea, where the port city of Odessa is bracing for a potential assault.
More live updates here.
- Russia has used hypersonic missiles in Ukraine, President Biden confirmed Monday, a move he suggested was in response to Moscow’s stalled ground campaign. Russia said last week that it had twice launched the missiles, which travel faster than five times the speed of sound and haven’t previously been used in combat.
- Satellite images released Monday offer a bird’s-eye view of the destruction in Mariupol, showing large swaths of bombed-out neighborhoods, with gray and black smoke marking smoldering ruins. The port city has refused to surrender despite weeks of bombardment.
- Biden warned Putin could seek to escalate the war by using biological and chemical weapons in Ukraine, though he did not provide evidence. The Pentagon also said it has detected “increased naval activity” in the northern Black Sea, where the port city of Odessa is bracing for a potential assault.
More live updates here.
U.N. agencies setting up border refugee centers to help separated families
United Nations agencies are setting up support centers for children and women fleeing the war in Ukraine that are designed to protect them and serve as information hubs for traveling families, a spokesman for the U.N. secretary general said.
Workers at the "Blue Dot" centers, at border entry points and other strategic locations in neighboring countries, will identify unaccompanied or separated children and help them reconnect with their families.
A UNICEF news release said the hubs will also offer psychosocial support and referrals to social workers and health services.
According to UNICEF, 26 Blue Dots — which can each serve up to 5,000 people a day — will be opened in Moldova, Romania, Belarus, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Read the full story here.
United Nations agencies are setting up support centers for children and women fleeing the war in Ukraine that are designed to protect them and serve as information hubs for traveling families, a spokesman for the U.N. secretary general said.
Workers at the "Blue Dot" centers, at border entry points and other strategic locations in neighboring countries, will identify unaccompanied or separated children and help them reconnect with their families.
A UNICEF news release said the hubs will also offer psychosocial support and referrals to social workers and health services.
According to UNICEF, 26 Blue Dots — which can each serve up to 5,000 people a day — will be opened in Moldova, Romania, Belarus, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic.
Read the full story here.