The air-raid shelter under the theatre in Mariupol bombed by Russia on Wednesday is said to be intact. This is apparent from unconfirmed messages on social media and is confirmed by Serhiy Taruta, the former governor of the Donetsk oblast.
There are said to have been about 1,000 to 1,200 people in the building when it was bombed on Wednesday, and it is not clear if everyone was in the shelter at the time. The people from the shelter are currently being evacuated.
Most of the people inside the building survived the attack, Ukrainian MP Dmytro Garin said. “The building is destroyed, but there are more than 1,000 women and children in the shelter, in the basement. We received confirmation a few minutes ago that the bomb shelter is intact, and that the people survived. We don’t know yet if there are any injuries or deaths. But it seems most have survived and are OK.”
To be clear, there is no official confirmation of that news from the local authorities yet. There is also no information about any deaths or injuries. The cabinet of the mayor of Mariupol says that “there is still no clarity about the toll of the Russian bombing”.