The Parliament of Ukraine on Friday thanked Greece for pledging to rebuild Mariupol's maternity hospital, which was recently destroyed by Russian shelling.
"Thank you for your support!" tweeted the Ukrainian parliament in its official account (Verkhovna Rada), including emojis of Greek and Ukrainian flags and a handshake.
This was in their retweeting of Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' Friday post, which said:
"Greece is ready to rebuild the maternity hospital in Mariupol, the center of the Greek minority in Ukraine, a city dear to our hearts and symbol of the barbarity of the war."
Thank you for your support!
🇺🇦🤝🇬🇷 https://t.co/A3GKfJ1Ry1— Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine - Ukrainian Parliament (@ua_parliament) March 18, 2022
Hundreds of civilians are feared trapped under a bombed-out theatre in the besieged city of Mariupol as Russian forces pressed their lethal attacks on cities with shelling and missiles.
Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden sought to prevent Beijing from coming to Russia's aid, even as Russian premier Vladimir Putin put on a grand show of strength back home.
In more worrying news, diplomatic dialogue between Kyiv and Moscow, which had seemed promising at the outset of the week, hit another deadlock on Friday as both sides accused one another of dragging the talks.
HERE ARE THE TOP DEVELOPMENTS AROUND THE WAR:
1. A Russian airstrike hit a theatre in the heart of Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians were said to have taken shelter. While 130 survivors have been rescued so far, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said hundreds are still believed trapped under the rubble of the bombed theatre.
2. In capital Kyiv, one person was killed and 19 others wounded when shelling ripped into a residential building in the Podil neighbourhood. Officials said 222 people have been killed in the capital since the start of the war, including 60 civilians and four children.
3. Russian forces fired a barrage of missiles at an aircraft repair facility near Lviv, a city where hundreds of thousands found refuge away from the conflict's frontlines. Lviv Mayor Andriy Sadovyi said the airstrikes had destroyed several buildings but caused no casualties.
READ MORE: Education Minister Niki Kerameus visits the Greek refugee children from Mariupol (PHOTOS)
