KYIV, Ukraine — Russian forces destroyed a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of people were sheltering and rained fire on other cities Wednesday, Ukrainian authorities said, even as the two sides projected optimism over efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting.
There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries in what the Mariupol city council said was an airstrike on the theater.
In Kyiv, residents huddled in homes and shelters amid a citywide curfew that runs until Thursday morning, as Russia shelled areas in and around the city, including a residential neighborhood 2.5 kilometers (1.5 miles) from the presidential palace. A 12-story apartment building in central Kyiv erupted in flames after being hit by shrapnel.
And 10 people were killed while standing in line for bread in the northern city of Chernihiv, the Ukrainian General Prosecutor’s Office said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, went before the U.S. Congress via video and, invoking Pearl Harbor and 9/11, pleaded with America for more weapons and tougher sanctions against Russia, saying: “ We need you right now.”
U.S. President Joe Biden later announced the United States is sending an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine, including more anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons and drones.
While Moscow’s ground advance on the Ukrainian capital appeared largely stalled, Russian President Vladimir Putin said the operation was unfolding “successfully, in strict accordance with pre-approved plans,” and he decried Western sanctions against Moscow. He accused the West of trying to “squeeze us, to put pressure on us, to turn us into a weak, dependent country.”
