In the early hours of Thursday more than 1,000 people sheltered in the theatre in the besieged Ukrainian city of Mariupol believed to have been the target of a Russian bombing, Mayor Vadim Boichenko said.
Boichenko posted the information on his Telegram channel calling the incident “another tragedy,”.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky meanwhile said that people had sought protection from shelling in the building and it was now destroyed.
He added that there was no information on fatalities yet.
The non-governmental organisation, Human Rights Watch had earlier said “hundreds of civilians” were sheltering in the theatre.
Kiev and Moscow have blamed each other for the incident, with the Ukrainian side saying it was a deliberate Russian bombing.
Russia is blaming the Ukrainian nationalist Azov regiment for the attack.
