Hundreds of civilians are feared trapped under a bombed-out theatre in the besieged city of Mariupol as Russian forces pressed their lethal attacks on Ukrainian cities with shelling and missiles.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden sought to prevent Beijing from coming to Russia’s aid in Ukraine, even as Russian premier Vladimir Putin put on a grand show of strength back home.

In more worrying news, diplomatic dialogue between Kyiv and Moscow, which had seemed promising at the outset of the week, hit another deadlock on Friday as both sides accused one another of dragging the talks.

HERE ARE THE TOP DEVELOPMENTS AROUND THE RUSSIA-UKRAINE WAR:

1. A Russian airstrike hit a theatre in the heart of Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians were said to have taken shelter. While 130 survivors have been rescued so far, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said hundreds are still believed trapped under the rubble of the bombed theatre.

2. In capital Kyiv, one person was killed and 19 others wounded when shelling ripped into a residential building in the Podil neighbourhood. Officials said 222 people have been killed in the capital since the start of the war, including 60 civilians and four children.

3. Russian forces fired a barrage of missiles at an aircraft repair facility near Lviv, a city where hundreds of thousands found refuge away from the conflict’s frontlines. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said the airstrikes had destroyed several buildings but caused no casualties.

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4. Over a video call, US President Joe Biden reportedly informed his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping that Beijing would pay a steep price if it assists Russia’s invasion. Xi told Biden that conflicts and confrontations such as the events in Ukraine are in the interests of no one, according to Chinese state media.

5. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that American officials were evaluating potential war crimes in Ukraine and that if the intentional targeting of civilians by Russia is confirmed, there will be “massive consequences.”

6. Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared at a huge flag-waving rally in Moscow and praised his country’s troops. Moscow police said more than 200,000 people attended the event, which marked the eighth anniversary of Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.

READ | Is Putin looking for an exit route in Ukraine?

7. Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he expects progress to be made on his country’s application to join the European Union in the coming months after speaking with the head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, on Friday.

Had substantial conversation with EC President @vonderleyen.
EC opinion on UA application for #EU membership will be prepared within few months.
UA Government and EC are instructed. Moving to our strategic goal together.

— (@ZelenskyyUa) March 18, 2022

8. The United Nations sounded the alarm bells over the deepening humanitarian crisis in Ukraine, saying that the besieged country’s food supply is falling apart under the Russian onslaught. A World Food Programme official expressed concern about the situation in “encircled cities” such as Mariupol, saying that food and water supplies were running out and that its convoys had been unable to enter the city.

READ | India at UN voices concern over deteriorating humanitarian situation in Ukraine

9. The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said that at least 816 civilians had been killed and 1,333 wounded in Ukraine since the Russian invasion began on February 24. Most of the casualties were from explosive weapons such as shelling from heavy artillery and multiple-launch rocket systems, and missile and air strikes, OHCHR said.

10. The International Monetary Fund, World Bank and other top global lenders warned of “extensive” economic fallout from the Ukraine war. A joint statement, warning that the conflict was curbing energy and food supplies and increasing poverty, read, “The entire global economy will feel the effects of the crisis through slower growth, trade disruptions, and steeper inflation.”

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