Ukraine says Russia shelled mosque in besieged Mariupol

The Ukrainian Embassy in Turkey reported earlier that a group of 86 Turkish nationals, including 34 children, were among those seeking refuge from an ongoing Russian attack on the encircled port city.

Lviv (Ukraine): The Ukrainian government says Russia's military has shelled a mosque sheltering more than 80 people in the besieged city of Mariupol. A government statement issued Saturday did not have any immediate reports of casualties.

"The mosque of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent and his wife Roxolana (Hurrem Sultan) in Mariupol was shelled by Russian invaders. More than 80 adults and children are hiding there from the shelling, including citizens of Turkey," Ukraine's Foreign Ministry wrote on its Twitter account.

The Ukrainian Embassy in Turkey reported earlier that a group of 86 Turkish nationals, including 34 children, were among those seeking refuge from an ongoing Russian attack on the encircled port city. An embassy spokeswoman cited information from the city's mayor. She noted that it was difficult to communicate with anyone in Mariupol.

Russian forces appeared to make progress from northeast Ukraine in their slow fight to reach the capital, Kyiv, while tanks and artillery pounded places already under siege with shelling so heavy it prevented residents of one city from burying the growing number of dead. In past offensives in Syria and Chechnya, Russia's strategy was to crush armed resistance with sustained airstrikes and shelling that levelled population centres. That kind of assault has cut off Ukraine's southern port city of Mariupol, and a similar fate could await Kyiv and other parts of the country if the war continues.

In Mariupol, unceasing barrages have thwarted repeated attempts to bring in food and water and to evacuate trapped civilians. On Friday, an Associated Press photographer captured the moment when a tank appeared to fire directly on an apartment building, enveloping one side in a billowing orange fireball.

Mariupol's death toll has passed 1,500 in 12 days of attack, the mayor's office said. A strike on a maternity hospital in the city of 446,000 this week that killed three people sparked international outrage and war-crime allegations. Continued shelling forced crews to stop digging trenches for mass graves, so the "dead aren't even being buried," the mayor said.

The conflict has already sent 2.5 million people fleeing the country. Thousands of soldiers on both sides are believed to have been killed along with many Ukrainian civilians.

The United Nations political chief said the international organization had received credible reports that Russian forces were using cluster bombs in populated areas. International law prohibits the use of bombs, which scatter smaller explosives over a wide area, in cities and towns.

AP