An art school sheltering about 400 people in Ukraine’s port city of Mariupol was bombed Saturday by Russian jets. Vadym Bouchenko, Mariupol’s Mayor, said that no information has been released about the number or causes of the casualties.
Petro Andrushenko, a consultant to Mariupol’s mayor, wrote via his Telegram channel. “So far, there is no exact operational data on how many people were hiding in the shelter or the number of casualties. I expect we will have it later today. But the situation is difficult and there is nowhere to get the data from.”
Officials claimed that the school provided shelter for children and women as well as elderly people who could be trapped in rubble.
On Sunday, Volodymyr Zelenskyy (Ukraine President) stated that he is open to negotiations with Russian President Valdimir Putin.
“If there’s just 1% chance for us to stop this war, I think that we need to take this chance. That is what we must do. I can tell you about the result of this negotiations — in any case, we are losing people on a daily basis, innocent people on the ground,” Zelenskyy told CNN.
Zelenskyy also told CNN that if Ukraine were already a member of NATO, Russia would have never attacked the country.
After appealing to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization–a military alliance of now 30 countries formed in 1949 including the U.S. and Canada–Zelenskyy said he had not received a clear answer on whether Ukraine could join. “The answer was clear: you are not going to become a NATO member. However, publically, the doors will remain open.” he said.
NATO was formed during the Cold War to deter Russia from expanding in Europe.
In 2008, NATO offered membership to Ukraine. Joining NATO became a priority of Ukraine in 2014 after Russia annexed Crimea. According to the BBC, it did not join because of Russia’s opposition to the move.
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