Mariupol theatre airstrike

Mariupol theatre airstrike
Part of the siege of Mariupol during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine
Damage to the theatre after the airstrike
Location	Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre Mariupol, Ukraine
Date	16 March 2022 (2022-03-16) (UTC+3)
Target	Civilians using the theatre as an air raid shelter
Attack type	Airstrike
Deaths	at least a dozen people—~600
Assailants	Russia Armed Forces

The theatre in May 2021, ten months before the airstrike

Severely damaged theatre (view from the road)

External images

A satellite image by Maxar Technologies shows the aftermath of the bombing. The word 'children' (Russian: дети) written in large white letters on the pavement is visible at the front and rear of the building.

On 16 March 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Russian Armed Forces bombed the Donetsk Regional Drama Theatre in Mariupol, Ukraine. It was used as an air raid shelter during the siege of Mariupol, sheltering a large number of civilians. Estimates of civilian deaths vary, ranging from at least a dozen (Amnesty International) to 600 (Associated Press).

Ukraine accused the Russian Armed Forces of deliberately bombing the theatre while it was sheltering civilians. Russia first claimed that the reason the theatre was bombed was because it was being used as a base by the Ukrainian military, and then denied the allegations and instead accused the Azov Battalion of blowing up the building. Both Russian claims have been refuted by independent investigation.

The theatre is among the many Ukrainian heritage and cultural sites destroyed during the invasion. The attack was classified as a war crime by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Amnesty International.

Background

Main article: Siege of Mariupol

On 24 February, the Russian Armed Forces, working together with pro-Russian rebels, besieged the port city of Mariupol, leading to heavy casualties. Supplies–such as food, gas, and electricity–were cut off from the population.

On 10 March, Ukrainian actor Damir Suhov made an emotional plea to the Russian forces to break the siege and allow women, children, and the wounded to be evacuated.^{[citation needed]}

By 17 March, the mayor of Mariupol, Sergiy Orlov, estimated that 80–90% of the city had been destroyed due to shelling.

As shelter

Mariupol city council officials stated that the theatre was the largest single air raid shelter in the city, sheltering 500 to 1,200 civilians, and at the time of the attack it contained only women and children. Satellite images of the theatre taken on 14 March show the word 'children' (Russian: дети) spelled out in two locations outside the theatre on the square in an attempt to identify it to invading forces as a civilian air raid shelter containing children, and not a military target.

Attack

On 16 March, Ukraine accused Russian forces of shelling civilian areas in Mariupol. Artillery hit numerous locations, including a swimming pool building and a vehicle convoy; shelling then struck the theatre, reducing the building to rubble.

The bomb shelter in the basement of the theatre survived the bombing, but many people were still trapped underneath the burning rubble. A member of the Ukrainian parliament from Mariupol, Dmytro Gurin, said that the rescue efforts were hampered due to continued attacks on the area by Russian forces.

On 25 March, videos allegedly showing the immediate aftermath of the attack emerged on social media: first video showed people covered in dust descending from the partially destroyed upper floors of the building; second video showed the site of the impact.

Victims

By 17 March, the number of casualties was unclear; some emerged alive.

By 18 March, around 130 survivors had been rescued. Mariupol City Council stated that according to initial information, no one had been killed, although one person was gravely wounded.

On 25 March, Mariupol City Council estimated that about 300 people had been killed as a result of the airstrike.

On 4 May, Associated Press published an investigation with evidence pointing to 600 dead in the airstrike. Many survivors estimated around 200 people–including rescuers–escaping through the main exit or one side entrance; the other side and the back were crushed.

On 7 June 2022, Human Rights Watch and Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group separately announced that Ukrainian refugees, as well as civilians forcibly deported to Russia, were being pressured and intimidated to implicate Ukrainian military personnel in war crimes. This includes a case where a refugee was pressured to implicate the Azov Regiment in the theatre airstrike.

Reactions

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy accused Russia of committing a war crime.

Russian media have widely reported that Russian Ministry of Defense denied responsibility for the bombing and accused the Azov Battalion of having planned and carrying out the theatre bombing instead. They claimed that no Russian airforces carried out air strikes within the city and blamed Azov Battalion for "taking hostages" of civilians and blowing up upper floors of the theatre.

Italy's Minister of Culture, Dario Franceschini, made an offer to the Ukrainian government to rebuild the theatre.

OSCE report

On 13 April, the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) published a report which covered the Mariupol theatre airstrike.

Russia does not claim that it was a legitimate target but that it was blown up by the Ukrainian Azov battalion. The Mission did not receive any indication that this could be the case... This incident constitutes most likely an egregious violation of IHL and those who ordered or executed it committed a war crime.

AP investigation

On 4 May, Associated Press (AP) published an investigation of the airstrike increasing the Ukraine's government estimate of about 300 hundred dead to 600 dead. It also refuted Russian claims that the theatre was demolished by Ukrainian forces or served as a Ukrainian military base:

None of the witnesses saw Ukrainian soldiers operating inside the building. And not one person doubted that the theater was destroyed in a Russian air attack aimed with precision at a civilian target everyone knew was the city’s largest bomb shelter, with children in it.

Amnesty International report

On 30 June 2022, Amnesty International concluded that the airstrike was perpetrated by the Russian Forces which used two 500 kilograms (1,100 lb) bombs, and that it is a war crime.

Many people were injured and killed in this merciless attack. Their deaths were likely caused by Russian forces deliberately targeting Ukrainian civilians. The International Criminal Court, and all others with jurisdiction over crimes committed during this conflict, must investigate this attack as a war crime. All those responsible must be held accountable for causing such death and destruction.

Amnesty International believes that at least a dozen people were killed by the strike and likely many more, and that many others were seriously injured. This estimate is lower than previous counts, reflecting the fact that large numbers of people had left the theatre during the two days prior to the attack, and most of those who remained were in the theatre’s basement and other areas that were protected from the full brunt of the blast.

Aftermath

On July 11, 2022 the Ukrainian media have reported that the theater rubles were cleaned by Russians and bodies of victims were allegedly taken away to an unknown place.

See also

• Mariupol art school bombing
• Mariupol hospital airstrike