As Mariupol hangs on, the extent of the horror not yet known
LVIV, Ukraine (AP) — As Mariupol’s defenders held out Monday against Russian demands that they surrender, the number of bodies in the rubble of the bombarded and encircled Ukrainian city remained shrouded in uncertainty, the full extent of the horror not yet known.
With communications crippled, movement restricted and many residents in hiding, the fate of those inside an art school flattened on Sunday and a theater that was blown apart four days earlier was unclear.
More than 1,300 people were believed to be sheltering in the theater, and 400 were estimated to have been in the art school.
Perched on the Sea of Azov, Mariupol has been a key target that has been relentlessly pounded for more than three weeks and has seen some of the worst suffering of the war. The fall of the southern port city would help Russia establish a land bridge to Crimea, seized from Ukraine in 2014.
https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-war-024cfeb20ed4a60dc692401ffb3bb7be