innocent immediately clear, but officials say many are believed to be buried in the rubble. nbc news has not been able to independently verify the attack. according to images though released by the u.s. government linked to the technology firm maxar, the world children was spelled out in russian on two sides of the theater before it was bombed. now, russia is denying it carried out the attack. mariupol has suffered the most intense bombardment in recent days where hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped without food, without electricity and without water. two a.p. journalists who are the only international media in the battered city report, quote, water is sparse and residents melt snow to be able to drink. so, mika, just to follow up on this tragedy at the mariupol theater that we ve been following over the past day,
hi there, everyone. 4:00 in new york. war in ukraine. the ongoing russian invasion apyres to have reached a deadly new stage. more brutal than anything we have seen thus far. ukrainian officials accusing moscow of consciously terrorizing civilian populations, targeting innocent people in places like hard hit mariupol. hundreds of thousands of people trapped there with no food, no water, no electricity, very few supplies. the word hostages was used by ukrainian authorities today to describe them. russian forces today dropped bombs on the green corridor designed to get civilians out of that city. yesterday we shared the images of a decimated maternity
people have been evacuated in the past two days. russia says the number is closer to 187,000. but in hard-hit mariupol, the mayor says hundreds of thousands of people are being held hostage by the russian military. he accused russia of genocide saying no aid has been able to reach the city for six days now. the ukrainian emergency service building in mariupol was shelled on thursday, a day earlier, you ll remember, a blast damaged a maternity and children s hospital, killing three people and wounding several others, and setting off global condemnation. russia denying any responsibility. in fact, calling the attack staged. and a warning, some images in our next report might be difficult to watch. they show some of the ukrainian civilians harmed by the relentless attacks on mariupol. cnn s phil black with that story. reporter: when you hear a ukrainian city is under siege,
arthel: breaking news on the war in ukraine. sources telling fox news that russia has asked china for military and economic assistance as putin ramps up the bloody invasion. now, china has tried to avoid publicly supporting russia but has said it will continue to buy russian oil and gas. tomorrow national security adviser jake sullivan is going to sit down with chinese diplomats to discuss ramping up pressure on putin and his inner circle, and i m sure topic will come up as well. again, sources telling fox news that russia has asked china for military and economic assistance as putin ramps up his barbaric invasion of ukraine. eric: new satellite images reveal the destruction in hard-hit mariupol as putin s relentless assault on ukraine continues. the photos show fires and artillery craters from those attacks on the southern ukrainian city. alexis mcadams is live here in our new york city newsroom with
immediately after the blast. an obviously pregnant woman is stretchered from the site. another, hurt, bleeding, walks out carrying what she can. russians often honor the bravery and determination shown by their own citizens who were besieged by nazi forces in the second world war. now, russia is inflicting that same suffering on the people of mariupol. phil black, cnn, london. do stay with us. still to come here on cnn newsroom, thousands have evacuated sumy, ukraine, thanks to humanitarian efforts. we speak with some international students who made it out after being trapped for days. also, still to come. dancers for the kyiv city ballet are stranded. how they are adjusting, and how they are finding ways to support ukraine s fight from afar. we ll have that and more after the break.