The people of Mariupol know only terror. 

For almost three weeks, Russia’s bombardment has been relentless.

An art school packed with 400 people, including women and children, was bombed on Saturday as they sheltered from the war.

“Peaceful civilians are still under the rubble,” the Mariupol city council said, adding that the building in the east of the city had been completely destroyed. The number of casualties is not yet known. 

Around 400,000 people have been trapped in the southern port city without supplies and the prospect of escape. Seizing Mariupol is vital for Russia: capturing it would allow the Kremlin to build a land corridor to Crimea, and grant it the entire north coast of the Sea of Azov. It is on the brink of falling to Vladimir Putin. 

As Ukrainians dig through the ruins for survivors at the school, similar scenes continue at a theatre flattened by a Russian air strike on Wednesday.