March 16 marks four years since the airstrike on the Mariupol Drama Theatre – one of the most widely known tragedies involving civilians during Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In March 2022, the theatre building in central Mariupol served as a shelter for hundreds of residents who were hiding from constant shelling and fighting.
After active battles for the city began, families from different districts of Mariupol started gathering in the theatre. Women with children, elderly people and residents whose homes had been left without electricity, water and heating stayed there.
The basements were used as bomb shelters, while halls and corridors were arranged as temporary places to rest. Gradually, the theatre turned into one of the largest humanitarian shelters in the city.
In front of the main entrance, the word “CHILDREN” was written in large letters on the asphalt. The inscription was clearly visible from the air, as confirmed by satellite images. Residents of Mariupol did this to mark the building as a place where civilians were staying and to protect people from possible Russian strikes.
On 16 March 2022, the theatre building was destroyed by an airstrike. The central part of the structure collapsed, trapping people who were inside under the rubble. Some of those who had taken shelter in the basements managed to survive.
The exact number of victims remains difficult to determine, as access to the site of the tragedy was restricted for a long time. According to various estimates, hundreds of people were killed.
Four years have passed, but the pain and memory of that day remain. The world must know that civilians are not targets and every crime must be answered.
– Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets.
Four years after the tragedy, Mariupol remains one of the cities whose history is associated with massive civilian losses during the war.
Read also:
A 15-year-old girl was killed during Russia’s night-time attack on several regions of Ukraine
