Ukraine says theatre destroyed by Russian forces was being used as shelter

The latest;

• Both Russia and Ukraine express hope for a negotiated end to the war.
  
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyspeaks to U.S. Congress in virtual address, makes urgent call for more help in battle against Russian invasion.
  
• Biden offers additionalU.S. aid to Ukraine.
  
• Ukrainian tourist stuck in limbo in Canada unable to return home, unable to work here.

Russian forces destroyed a theatrein Mariupol where hundreds of people were sheltering and rained fire on other cities Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said, even as the two sides projected optimism over efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting.

The airstrike ripped apart the centreof the once-elegant building, where hundreds of civilians had been living since their homes had been destroyed in the fighting, Ukraine's foreign ministry said in a statement.

Many people were buried in the rubble, officials said, though there was no immediate word on deaths or injuries in what the Mariupol city council said was an airstrike on the theatre.

The Maxartechnologycompany said images from Monday showed the word "children" had been written in large white letters in Russian in front of and behind the building.

"Another horrendous war crime in Mariupol," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter, calling the bombing a "massive Russian attack."

"My heart breaks from what Russia is doing to our people," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his nightly address, calling for more sanctions on Russia after the bombing.

The Russian defence ministry denied bombing the theatre,or anywhere else in Mariupol on Wednesday.

WATCH | Reflecting the human toll of war. WARNING: This video contains a graphic image:

Photojournalist Lynsey Addario on capturing human cost of war

3 years ago

Duration 8:50

Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Lynsey Addario of the New York Times describes the photo she took of a Ukrainian family killed by a Russian mortar attack while trying to flee the Kyiv suburb of Irpin.

Civilians targeted

In Kyiv, residents huddled in homes and shelters amid a citywide curfew that runs until Thursday morning, as Russia shelled areas in and around the city. A 12-storey apartment building in central Kyiv erupted in flames after being hit by shrapnel.

And 10 people were killed while standing in line for bread in the northern city of Chernihiv, the Ukrainian General Prosecutor's Office said.

Nowhere has suffered more than Mariupol, on the Sea of Azov in southeastern Ukraine. Local officials say missile strikes and shelling have killed more than 2,300 people. Bodies have been buried in trenches, and more corpses lay in the streets and in a hospital basement.

Zelensky calls on U.S. to 'do more'

In Washington, lawmakers gaveZelensky a standing ovation as he appeared on the video screen, where he spoke to the U.S. Congress first through a translator and then in a direct appeal in English.

"I need to protect our sky," he said through a translator, calling for help from the U.S. in establishing a no-fly zone.

Ukrainian people are fighting not only for their country, he said they are fighting for the values of Europe and the world.

As with his address toCanadian members of Parliamenton Tuesday, Zelensky thanked the U.S. for its support to date.But the help that's been offered so far is not enough to beat back the Russian invasion that began on Feb. 24.

WATCH |Zelensky urges Biden to be a 'world leader of peace':

Zelensky urges Biden to be a 'world leader of peace'

3 years ago

Duration 2:43

In an address to the U.S. Congress, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his people's fight is part of a universal battle for freedom, and he asked President Joe Biden to lead the way in a global struggle for peace.

"I call on you to do more," the embattled presidentsaid, calling fornew sanctionsevery weekuntil the Russian military stops. In particular, he called for sanctions on all politicians in Russia who remain in office and do not cut ties with those responsible for the war in Ukraine.

He showed a packed auditorium of lawmakers a graphic video of the destruction and devastation his country has suffered in the war, along with heartbreaking scenes of civilian casualties.

U.S. President Joe Biden called Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" in his sharpest condemnation of the Russian leader since the invasion began.He made the comment shortly after he announced the U.S. is sending more anti-aircraft, anti-armour weapons and drones to Ukraine to assist in its defence against Russia.

Biden announced his administration is sending an additional $800 million US in military assistance to Ukraine, bringing the total to$2 billion in such assistance sent to Kyiv since Biden took office more than a year ago. About $1 billion in aid has been sent in just the last week.

"We're going to give Ukraine the arms to fight and defend themselves through all the difficult days ahead," Biden said.

Zelensky also spoke with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau again on Wednesday, expressing thanks again for the support and urging a strengthening of "the anti-war coalition."

Diplomatic efforts continue

While Moscow's ground advance on the Ukrainian capital appeared largely stalled, Putin said the operation was unfolding "successfully, in strict accordance with pre-approved plans." He also decried Western sanctions against Moscow, accusing the West of trying to "squeeze us, to put pressure on us, to turn us into a weak, dependent country."

The two sides resumed talks via video on Wednesday, with Zelenskyadviser Mikhailo Podolyak saying Ukraine was demanding a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and legal security guarantees for Ukraine from several countries.

"This is possible only through direct dialogue" between Zelenskyand Putin, he tweeted.

An official in Zelensky's office told The Associated Press that the main subject under discussion was whether Russian troops would remain in the two separatist regions of Eastern Ukraine after the war and where the borders would be.

Just before the war, Russia recognized the independence of two regions controlled by Russian-backed separatists since 2014 and extended the borders of those regions to areas Ukraine had continued to hold, including the strategically important port city of Mariupol, which has endured a brutal siege.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, said Ukraine was insisting on the inclusion of one or more Western nuclear powers in the negotiations and on the signing of a legally binding document with security guarantees for Ukraine. In exchange, the official said, Ukraine was ready to discuss a neutral status.

Hopes for diplomatic progress to end the war rose after Zelensky acknowledged Tuesday in the most explicit terms yet that Ukraine is unlikely to realize its goal of joining NATO. Putin has long depicted Ukraine's NATO aspirations as a threat to Russia.

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) on Wednesday ordered Russia to cease military actions in Ukraine immediatelyas part of a preliminary decision in a case brought by Kyiv.

"The Russian Federation shall immediately suspend the military operations that it commenced on Feb 24, 2022, on the territory of Ukraine," judges at the UN'shighest court said in a 13-2 decision.

Although the court's rulings are binding, it has no directmeans of enforcing them and in rare cases countries have ignoredthem in the past.

What's happening on the ground?

WATCH | Civilians killedin Chernihiv. WARNING: This video contains a graphic image:

Russia condemned for civilian casualties in Ukraine

3 years ago

Duration 3:43

Western nations have condemned Russia for its continued attacks on Ukrainian civilians, most recently attacks on a theatre-turned-shelter in Mariupol and a bread line in northern Ukraine, which killed at least 10 people.

• Shrapnel from an artillery shell slammed into a 12-storey apartment building in central Kyiv on Wednesday, obliterating the top floor and igniting a fire that sent plumes of smoke over the area, according to a statement and images released by the Kyiv emergencies agency. The neighbouring building was also damaged. The agency reported two victims, without saying if they were injured or killed.
  
• The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv said on Wednesday that Russian forces had shot and killed 10 people waiting in line for bread in the Ukrainian city of Chernihiv."Such horrific attacks must stop. Weare considering all available options to ensure accountabilityfor any atrocity crimes in Ukraine," the embassy said.The embassy did not cite what evidence it had of the attack in a statement posted on its official Twitter site and on its Facebook page.
  
• In Kharkiv,a powerful explosion thundered overnightthat was heard across the eastern city.

• The mayor of the southeastern Ukrainian city of Melitopol has been freed after he was seized by Russian forces five days ago, a Ukrainian official said Wednesday.Surveillance video last week showed IvanFedorov being marched out of city hall apparently surrounded by Russian soldiers.

• Russian forceson Wednesday continued pounding Mariupol, the encircled southern seaport of 430,000 that has been under attack for almost all of the three-week war in a siege that has left people struggling for food, water, heat and medicine and has forced the digging of mass graves. An Associated Press video showed bloody civilians, some moaning in pain, lying on stretchers in a hospital hallwaywhile corpses lined a wall outside.

• Ukraine's presidentsaid 28,893 civilians were able to flee through nine humanitarian corridors in the past day, although the Russians refused to allow aid into Mariupol.

• In neighbouringPoland,which has taken nearly two million people from Ukraine, authorities on Wednesday began issuing national identification numbers to the refugees so they can access social services and benefits, and more easily find jobs.

• What questions do you have about Russia's invasion of Ukraine? Send an email toask@cbc.ca

Russian forces have intensified fighting in the Kyiv suburbs, notably around the town of Bucha in the northwest and the highway leading west toward Zhytomyr, the head of the Kyiv region Oleksiy Kuleba said.

He said Russian troops are trying to cut off the capital from transport arteries and destroy logistical capabilities even as they plan a wide-ranging attack to seize Kyiv. Twelve towns around Kyiv are without water and six without heat.

Russia has occupied the city of Ivankiv, 80 kilometres north of Kyiv, and controls the surrounding region on the border with Belarus, Kuleba said.

Across the Kyiv region, he said, "Kindergartens, museums, churches, residential blocks and engineering infrastructure are suffering from the endless firing."

The UN said close to 700 civilians in Ukraine have been confirmed killed, with the true figure probably much higher. Zelensky told Canadian MPs in a video address on Tuesday that 97 children had been killed to date.

NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg on Wednesday again ruled out any role for the military organization in setting up or policing a no-fly zone over Ukraine to protect against Russian airstrikes.

WATCH |What Ukraine, NATO can try to keep Russian forces at bay:

How Ukraine, NATO can try to keep Russian forces at bay

3 years ago

Duration 7:43

Ukraine should resist Russian military advances as long as possible, said Eric Ouellet of the Canadian Forces College, which would give the sanctions against Russia more time to have an impact. He said NATO can also put more troops in countries near Russia.