Hundreds feared trapped in Ukraine theatre hit by air strike

Russian president Vladimir Putin called for a 'self-purification' to rid his country of anyone who questions his invasion

Aftermath image of a theatre in the encircled Ukrainian port city of Mariupol where hundreds of civilians were sheltering on Wednesday March 16, 2022 after Russian forces dropped a powerful bomb on it, Ukraine's foreign ministry said. Picture: EyePress News/Shutterstock

Ukrainian authorities are struggling to determine the fate of hundreds of civilians who had been sheltering in a theatre ripped apart by a Russian air strike in the besieged city of Mariupol.

A photo released by Mariupol’s city council showed an entire section of the large, three-storey theatre had collapsed after the strike on Wednesday evening.