INTERNATIONAL: Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has said on Thursday,March 17, that the allegation that Russia had bombed the theatre was a "lie", and repeated Kremlin denials that Russian forces have targeted civilians since the February 24 invasion of Ukraine.

"Russia's armed forces don't bomb towns and cities," she told in a briefing.

Satellite images of the theatre taken earlier this week before it was struck show a large structure with a red roof and the Russian word for "children" painted in large white letters on the tarmac at the front and back.

The council in the besieged port city earlier have said Russian forces bombed a theatre where civilians were sheltering.