A mosque that hosted civilians was bombed in Mariupol, where thousands of people have been besieged for days, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said today.
According to the Ukrainians, there were 86 civilians of Turkish origin inside the building, as well as 34 children.
"The mosque of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Roxelana in Mariupol was bombed by Russian invaders," the ministry said in a Twitter message.
It is unclear at this time when the shelling took place.
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An embassy spokeswoman, citing information from the city's mayor, said they had taken refuge in the mosque with others seeking shelter from the Russian attack on the encircled port on the Sea of Azov.
"There are serious communication problems in Mariupol and there is no chance of reaching them," she explained."
[BR][BR]Hundreds of thousands of civilians have been trapped in Mariupol for more than a week without food, water, heat or electricity amid freezing temperatures. Efforts to establish a ceasefire have repeatedly collapsed.
Turkish officials did not respond to requests for comment. Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said Friday that Turkey has evacuated nearly 14,000 of its citizens from Ukraine.
At least 1,582 civilians have been killed in Mariupol
At least 1.582 civilians have been killed in Mariupol, in southeastern Ukraine, as a result of Russian shelling and a 12-day blockade of the city, the city council announced today in a post online.
"We will never forget and will never forgive this crime against humanity," the municipality said."
"Mariupol reminds of Grozny and Aleppo."
Earlier, Mariupol Deputy Mayor Sergei Orlov spoke to the German ARD network, stressing that: "Important supply facilities have been destroyed and all efforts to evacuate the civilian population through safe corridors have so far failed."
Orlov is fuming at the Russian forces, which he says are deliberately preventing the evacuation of civilians. "The city is under constant fire and shelling with the roads around the city badly damaged. For example, humanitarian aid trucks cannot reach the city and it is not possible to distribute medical supplies."
The deputy mayor of Mariupol estimates that some 200,000 civilians have been trying to leave the city in recent hours.
"I don't know how to describe the devastation our city has suffered."
"I don't know how to describe the devastation our city has suffered. Mariupol really doesn't exist anymore. The scene is reminiscent of Grozny and Aleppo," Orlov said, adding: "The Ukrainian army is very brave, but with the Russians dropping bombs, they have no weapons to protect the lives of civilians."
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