Hundreds still trapped in bombed Ukraine theatre

Venue where civilians were sheltering in besieged city of Mariupol was hit two days ago

Around 130 people have been rescued from the decimated theatre to date, according to Ukraine's President Zelenksyy. Photo: Donetsk Regional Civil-Military

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Rescuers in Ukraine searched on Friday for hundreds of civilians feared trapped under the wreckage of a bombed theatre, as local forces battled against Russian troops across the country.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said 130 people had been brought out after the Russian strike two days ago on the building where civilians were sheltering in the besieged city of Mariupol, but that hundreds were still inside.

With world powers manoeuvring to respond to the bloody three-week invasion, Washington said that President Joe Biden had told Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping of the "consequences" of any support for Russia.

The United States fears that China could deliver financial and military aid to Moscow, transforming an already explosive transatlantic standoff into a global confrontation.

In the nearly two-hour phone call, President Xi said that war is "in no one's interest" but showed no sign of giving in to US pressure to join Western condemnation of Russia.

Russia's offensive remains largely stalled, a US defence official said, with troops about 30 kilometres (20 miles) east of the capital Kyiv and facing heavy resistance.

The official added that Russian forces had made no further progress into the northeastern city of Kharkiv, which they have encircled, and that Ukrainians were also defending the northern city of Chernihiv.

Despite the apparent setbacks, President Vladimir Putin held a large triumphalist rally in a Moscow football stadium featuring a sea of Russian flags, pro-Kremlin pop stars and chants of "Russia! Russia! Russia!"

Marking eight years since Russia's annexation of Crimea from Ukraine, tens of thousands of people took part, many wearing ribbons with the letter Z that features on Russian tanks invading Ukraine.

Mr Putin said the Russian military was in Ukraine "to rid these people from their suffering and genocide".

Also on Friday, the Russian leader accused Kyiv of "war crimes" in a call with French President Emmanuel Macron, and said that Moscow was doing "everything possible" to avoid civilian deaths -- even as Russia continued its devastating bombardment of Mariupol and other cities.

During the day, Russian missiles struck an aircraft repair site close to Lviv's airport in Ukraine's far west, extending the war to a relatively unscathed region near the border with NATO member Poland.

The Russian Ministry of Defence defended the strike as a "high-precision" attack on Ukrainian military infrastructure.

In Kyiv, authorities said one person was killed when a Russian rocket struck residential tower blocks in the northwestern suburbs. They said a school and playground were also hit.

For many Ukrainians, Russia's actions on the ground and from the air make a mockery of stop-start peace talks that have been proceeding this week.

Russia wants Ukraine to disarm and disavow all Western alliances -- steps that Kyiv says would turn it into a vassal state of Moscow.

More than 3.25 million refugees have fled Ukraine.