Head of the Donetsk Regional Military Administration, Pavlo Kyrylenko, said in a telegram posting pictures and videos of the Mariupol Drama Theater and Neptune Pool buildings that “the Russians are deliberately attacking civilians.”

In the pictures, the middle part of the theater building was completely destroyed and white smoke was rising from the rubble. Videos of the pool facility show blown windows, doors and ceilings. Kyrylenko said there were pregnant women and children under the rubble and condemned the attack, calling it “pure terrorism”.

On March 14, satellite images of the theater, shared by the private satellite company Maxar, showed the words “children” clearly written on the ground in Russian on both sides of the building. Ukraine’s foreign ministry says Russia has committed a “horrendous war crime.”

“The invaders destroyed the Drama Theatre. A place where more than a thousand people found refuge. We will never forgive this,” the Mariupol City Council said in a Telegram post.

According to Human Rights Watch, the theatre had been housing at least 500 civilians.

However, the Russian Defense Ministry denied the attack on the building and accused the far-right Ukrainian militia Azov Battalion of blowing it up, according to the RIA News Agency.

Authorities in Mariupol dismissed the Russian claim as a “lie.”

Mariupol City Council suggested that hundreds of people were inside the building at the time of the attack.

In a separate incident, Ukraine authorities had earlier said, at least 13 people had been killed by Russian forces in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv while they were standing in a queue waiting for bread.

The invasion by Russia has now entered its fourth week. Despite expectations from some officials that Moscow would win the war in a matter of days, Russian troops have failed to capture any major Ukrainian cities and have stopped at the gates of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, after suffering heavy losses.

However, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Wednesday that the operation was “successfully underway, according to pre-approved plans”, and condemned Western sanctions against Moscow.

Yesterday, International pressure against the Kremlin further mounted and its isolation deepened as the International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, ordered Russia to stop attacking Ukraine, though there was little expectation it would comply.

After the most recent round of talks, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said a “neutral military status” for Ukraine was being “seriously discussed” by both sides, while Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Russia’s demands were becoming more relaistic.

Hopes for a diplomatic breakthrough to end the war were raised when Zelenskyy on Tuesday acknowledged in no uncertain terms that Ukraine was unlikely to achieve its goal of joining NATO. Putin has long portrayed Ukraine’s NATO aspirations as a threat to Russia.

Vladimir Medinsky, Russia’s chief negotiator said the sides were discussing a possible compromise for a Ukraine with a smaller, non-aligned military.

However, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak denied Russian claims Ukraine was open to adopting a model of neutrality comparable to Sweden or Austria. Podolyak said Ukraine needs powerful allies and “clearly defined security guarantees” to keep it safe.

In the most recent show of support for Ukraine, U.S President Joe Biden later announced the US will be sending more anti-aircraft, anti-armour weapons and drones and called Putin a “war criminal” while talking to reporters.

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