SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
A young mother comforts her infant in a temporary shelter for Ukrainian refugees near the Polish-Ukrainian border on March 8, 2022. (Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukraine Accuses Russia of Shelling Mariupol Mosque Sheltering Civilians
"More than 80 adults and children are hiding there from the shelling, including citizens of Turkey," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry said.
Mar 12, 2022
Russian forces on Saturday reportedly shelled a Ukrainian mosque sheltering more than 80 people in the besieged port city of Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are currently trapped and struggling to survive in increasingly dire conditions.
"More than 80 adults and children are hiding there from the shelling, including citizens of Turkey," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry wrote in a tweet early Saturday.
According to the Associated Press, "There was no immediate word of casualties from the shelling of the mosque. Mariupol has seen some of the greatest misery from Russia's war in Ukraine as unceasing barrages have thwarted repeated attempts to bring in food and water and to evacuate trapped civilians."
Reports that Russia shelled the Mariupol mosque came as the country's military forces intensified their assault on major Ukrainian cities and continued advancing on Kyiv, the capital. Russia has denied targeting civilian centers.
The United Nations said Friday that it has thus far recorded 549 civilian deaths and 957 injuries from Russia's assault on Ukraine, which is now in its third week with no end in sight. The U.N. has acknowledged that its estimate of civilian casualties is likely a significant undercount.
"Civilians are being killed and maimed in what appear to be indiscriminate attacks, with Russian forces using explosive weapons with wide-area effects in or near populated areas. These include missiles, heavy artillery shells, and rockets, as well as airstrikes," Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said during a press briefing on Friday.
"Civilian casualties are rising daily, as is general human suffering," Throssell continued. "We remind the Russian authorities that directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, as well as so-called area bombardment in towns and villages and other forms of indiscriminate attacks, are prohibited under international law and may amount to war crimes."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Russian forces on Saturday reportedly shelled a Ukrainian mosque sheltering more than 80 people in the besieged port city of Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are currently trapped and struggling to survive in increasingly dire conditions.
"More than 80 adults and children are hiding there from the shelling, including citizens of Turkey," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry wrote in a tweet early Saturday.
According to the Associated Press, "There was no immediate word of casualties from the shelling of the mosque. Mariupol has seen some of the greatest misery from Russia's war in Ukraine as unceasing barrages have thwarted repeated attempts to bring in food and water and to evacuate trapped civilians."
Reports that Russia shelled the Mariupol mosque came as the country's military forces intensified their assault on major Ukrainian cities and continued advancing on Kyiv, the capital. Russia has denied targeting civilian centers.
The United Nations said Friday that it has thus far recorded 549 civilian deaths and 957 injuries from Russia's assault on Ukraine, which is now in its third week with no end in sight. The U.N. has acknowledged that its estimate of civilian casualties is likely a significant undercount.
"Civilians are being killed and maimed in what appear to be indiscriminate attacks, with Russian forces using explosive weapons with wide-area effects in or near populated areas. These include missiles, heavy artillery shells, and rockets, as well as airstrikes," Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said during a press briefing on Friday.
"Civilian casualties are rising daily, as is general human suffering," Throssell continued. "We remind the Russian authorities that directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, as well as so-called area bombardment in towns and villages and other forms of indiscriminate attacks, are prohibited under international law and may amount to war crimes."
Russian forces on Saturday reportedly shelled a Ukrainian mosque sheltering more than 80 people in the besieged port city of Mariupol, where hundreds of thousands of civilians are currently trapped and struggling to survive in increasingly dire conditions.
"More than 80 adults and children are hiding there from the shelling, including citizens of Turkey," the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry wrote in a tweet early Saturday.
According to the Associated Press, "There was no immediate word of casualties from the shelling of the mosque. Mariupol has seen some of the greatest misery from Russia's war in Ukraine as unceasing barrages have thwarted repeated attempts to bring in food and water and to evacuate trapped civilians."
Reports that Russia shelled the Mariupol mosque came as the country's military forces intensified their assault on major Ukrainian cities and continued advancing on Kyiv, the capital. Russia has denied targeting civilian centers.
The United Nations said Friday that it has thus far recorded 549 civilian deaths and 957 injuries from Russia's assault on Ukraine, which is now in its third week with no end in sight. The U.N. has acknowledged that its estimate of civilian casualties is likely a significant undercount.
"Civilians are being killed and maimed in what appear to be indiscriminate attacks, with Russian forces using explosive weapons with wide-area effects in or near populated areas. These include missiles, heavy artillery shells, and rockets, as well as airstrikes," Liz Throssell, a spokesperson for the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said during a press briefing on Friday.
"Civilian casualties are rising daily, as is general human suffering," Throssell continued. "We remind the Russian authorities that directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects, as well as so-called area bombardment in towns and villages and other forms of indiscriminate attacks, are prohibited under international law and may amount to war crimes."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.