March 16 marks anniversary of russian bombing of Mariupol drama theater
A view shows a fenced Mariupol drama theater building destroyed by russian bombing on March 16, 2022. Photo: Reuters
A year ago, on March 16, the russian army carried out an airstrike on the Mariupol Drama Theater, Donetsk region, where civilians were hiding from the bombings.
On this occasion, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addressed the Ukrainian people, Rubryka reports.
The Ukrainian leader said, "we are going to ensure the full responsibility of the aggressor."
On this day a year ago, March 16, 2022, the russian invaders purposefully dropped a powerful bomb on the Drama Theater in the center of Mariupol, committing a war crime.
At that time, the building served as a bomb shelter for locals seeking refuge from russian attacks. Near the theater, there was the huge inscription "Children" that one could see from the air.
"Step by step, we are moving towards ensuring that the terrorist state is fully held to account for what it has done to our country and our people.
"We will not forgive a single life ruined by the occupiers.
"We remember all those whose lives were taken by russian terror," Zelensky emphasized.
Reference
As Rubryka reported, on March 16, 2022, the russians dropped a powerful bomb on the Drama Theater of Mariupol, which housed 1,000 people in its bomb shelter.
On March 23, 2022, it became known that in Mariupol, the russians were destroying evidence of the killing of civilians in a shelter under the Drama Theater.
On May 4, Associated Press published an investigation with evidence pointing to 600 dead in the airstrike. Many survivors estimated that around 200 people – including rescuers – had escaped through the main exit or one side entrance; the other side and the back were crushed.
On May 20, 2022, the adviser to Mariupol mayor Andriushchenko reported that the russians had finished sorting out the rubble of the Drama Theater in Mariupol, and now it is impossible to determine the number of dead.
On June 30, Amnesty International, which investigated the destruction of the Mariupol Drama Theater, concluded that the occupiers deliberately dropped a bomb on the theater, knowing that hundreds of civilians were hiding there.
On August 18, Petro Andriushchenko informed that the invaders began to restore the drama theater they destroyed and stole a unique children's playground from the square.
The russian occupation authorities decided to demolish the back and central part of the drama theater in Mariupol, but the front part will be left "as a basis for reconstruction."
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe and Amnesty International classified the attack as a war crime.
