White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki will hold a briefing with reporters from Washington. Russian forces destroyed a theater in Mariupol where hundreds of people were sheltering Wednesday and rained fire on other cities, Ukrainian authorities said, even as the two sides projected optimism over efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting. The airstrike ripped apart the center of the once-elegant building, where hundreds of civilians had been living since their homes had been destroyed in the fighting, Ukraine's foreign ministry said in a statement. Many people were buried in the rubble, the statement said, though there was no immediate word on how many had been killed or injured. Satellite imagery from Monday showed the word “children” written in large white letters in Russian in front of and behind the building, the Maxar space technology company said. “Another horrendous war crime in Mariupol," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter, calling the bombing a “massive Russian attack." The Russian defense ministry denied bombing the theater or anywhere else in Mariupol on Wednesday. In Kyiv, residents huddled in homes and shelters amid a citywide curfew that runs until Thursday morning, as Russian troops shelled areas in and around the city, including a residential neighborhood 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 announced the U.S. is sending an additional $800 million in military aid to Ukraine, including more anti-aircraft and anti-tank weapons and drones. He also called Vladimir Putin a “war criminal” in his sharpest condemnation of the Russian leader since the invasion began. MORE: https://www.wcnc.com/article/news/nation-world/ukraine/russia-ukraine-war-wednesday/507-7ad2368e-2298-487e-8f3d-11a943de1364