Rescue workers searched desperately for any survivors buried beneath the rubble of Mariupol's bombed-out theatre on Friday, as Russia's forces pounded residential areas across Ukraine, stoking allegations of war crimes.
Twenty-four hours after Mariupol's once-gleaming whitewashed theatre was hollowed out by a Russian strike, the number of dead, injured or trapped is still unclear.
Ukraine's ombudswoman Lyudmyla Denisova said a bombshelter in the building had survived the impact, and some "adults and children" had emerged alive.
"Work is underway to unlock the basement," she said, amid fears that up to 1,000 people may have been taking refuge underground at the time of the blast.
The attack on a civilian building marked with the words "DETI", or "children" in Russian, has sparked a wave of international revulsion and heaped pressure on Russia's few remaining allies - most notably China - to condemn Moscow's apparent deliberate targeting of civilians.
In a call later Friday US President Joe Biden is set to warn his counterpart Xi Jinping that Beijing will face "costs" for "any actions it takes to support Russia's aggression," according to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
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