21 killed in attack on Ukraine school

Merefa (Ukraine), March 17

Twenty-one people have been killed by Russian artillery that destroyed a school and a community center in Merefa, near Kharkiv, officials said.

Merefa Mayor Veniamin Sitov said the attack occurred just before dawn on Thursday. The Kharkiv region has seen heavy bombardment as stalled Russian forces try to advance in the area.

In Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv, a hostel was shelled, killing a family of five.

Meanwhile, survivors began to emerge on Thursday as authorities worked to rescue hundreds of civilians trapped in the basement of a theater blasted by Russian airstrikes in the besieged city of Mariupol, while ferocious Russian bombardment killed dozens in a northern city over the past day, the local governor said. The strikes the previous evening had left a large section of the grand, 3-three story theater building in the center of Mariupol collapsed in a smoking ruin. — PTI/AP

China defends its ICJ judge

• China has defended its judge at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), who dissented against the majority order of asking Russia to suspend its military operations in Ukraine.
• The order was passed by a vote of 13:2, with Vice-President Kirill Gevorgian of Russia and Judge Xue Hanqin of China dissenting. PTI

Evidence of war crimes: UK

• Britain has said there was “very strong evidence” of war crimes being committed in Ukraine and Russian President Vladimir Putin was behind them.
• US President Joe Biden had on Wednesday called Putin a war criminal in comments the Kremlin said were “unforgivable”. Reuters

US President Joe Biden to call Chinese leader Xi Jinping on Friday