An undocumented crime. Three years after the Russian attack on the drama theater in Mariupol

On March 16, 2022, the Russian military dropped two air bombs on the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater in Mariupol, where hundreds of civilians were hiding. This attack was one of the most massive war crimes during Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

The scale of the tragedy

Among all the horrors that have occurred during the war in Ukraine, the Russian bombing of the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater in Mariupol on March 16 remains the deadliest known attack on civilians.

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An investigation by the Associated Press found that the attack was much bloodier than previously thought, with about 600 people killed inside and outside the building. This is almost double the previously reported figures, and many survivors estimate the death toll to be even higher.

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AP investigators Laurie Ginnant, Mstislav Chernov and Vasilisa Stepanenko recreated the events in the theater that day based on the accounts of 23 survivors, as well as rescuers and people with knowledge of how the theater became a bomb shelter. The AP also used two sets of building plans, photos and videos taken before, during and after the strike, as well as feedback from experts who verified the research methodology.

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Reconstruction of the events

AP journalists came to a much higher figure after reconstructing a 3D model of the building's floor plan, which was viewed repeatedly by eyewitnesses, most of whom were inside the theater, and who described in detail the location of people during the attack.

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All witnesses stated that at least 100 people were in the open-air field kitchen, and none of them survived.

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They also said that the rooms and corridors inside the building were overcrowded, with approximately one person for every three square meters of available space. Many survivors estimated that there were about 1,000 people in the theater at the time of the airstrike, but the largest number seen among the survivors, including rescuers, was approximately 200. The survivors left mainly through the main or side exits; the other side and back of the theater were destroyed.

AP's investigation refutes Russian lies that the theater was allegedly blown up by the Ukrainian military or that it was used as an AFU base. None of the witnesses saw Ukrainian troops there. None of the witnesses doubt that the theater was destroyed by a Russian airstrike that precisely targeted the civilian facility where the children were.

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On the asphalt near the theater's entrance was a huge word “CHILDREN” written in white paint a week before the explosion. This inscription was visible even from satellites. A few days before the attack, Russian aircraft bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol, forcing several pregnant women to move to the theater. On March 16, a Russian plane dropped a bomb directly on the stage and field kitchen, destroying the central part of the building.

A tragedy without witnesses

Journalist and documentary filmmaker Mstislav Chernov, along with photographer Yevhen Malolhetka and producer Vasilisa Stepanenko, worked in Mariupol during the siege. The team left the city on March 15, the day before the attack on the drama theater. In numerous interviews, Chernov admits that he regrets that he was unable to record this crime to tell the world about it and prove the criminal actions of the Russians.

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“If 20 days is hell, what is 86?” - Chernov

In an interview with Detector Media, Chernov was asked whether he planned to include the air strike on the theater in his film 20 Days in Mariupol.

“The Drama Theater and Azovstal are events that I really wanted to tell about, but I did not see them with my own eyes. We had already chosen the style of conversation with the audience. The question was: what exactly will help us, without talking about the Drama Theater and Azovstal, to show that the tragedy continued?” Chernov answered.

He explained that he was looking for an artistic means to convey the scale of the disaster: “The result was one shot with the number '86'. We had titles that told about the events after we left. But we decided to remove everything so that the viewer could see only one number. And that's enough to make a bomb explode in your head: if 20 days is what they went through, what is 86?”

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“We knew people who died in the drama theater” - Chernov

In an interview with the BBC, Chernov said that he dreams of returning to liberated Mariupol someday to shoot the next part of the film: “Mariupol residents who watched 20 Days in Mariupol say: “We want to see this movie one day in the restored drama theater in the center of Mariupol.”

He also said that he and his team regretted leaving the city the day before the tragedy.

“We knew people who lived there. Some women who escaped the bombing of the maternity hospital moved into the dressing rooms of the drama theater. And, unfortunately, they were killed by the bombs,” the documentary filmmaker admitted.

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Why it is important to have journalists in conflict zones

Despite the fact that Mstyslav Chernov and his team conducted their own investigation - they spent a month reconstructing the scene of the attack, building a 3D model of the theater, and interviewing dozens of witnesses - he emphasizes that this is not enough: “There were no journalists there. This proves once again how important it is for professional journalists to work in conflict zones on a regular basis. Without them, war crimes investigations will simply not be possible.”

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Destruction of evidence by Russians

After the occupation of Mariupol, the Russian military began dismantling the theater to hide the number of victims. Russian propaganda claimed that the theater had allegedly been the Ukrainian headquarters, although all witnesses say this is not true. Russian media published footage of the ruins without bodies, although witnesses confirmed that there were bodies, and they were either burned or taken away.

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Mariupol has become the epicenter of Russian terror, where more than 20,000 civilians have died during the siege The city remains cut off from the world, and the true number of victims may be even higher. Ukrainians demand justice and an international tribunal for Russian criminals.

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Mstislav Chernov is a Ukrainian photographer, Associated Press journalist, filmmaker, war correspondent, president of the Ukrainian Association of Professional Photographers, honorary member of PEN Ukraine and writer. He has covered the Revolution of Dignity, the war in eastern Ukraine, the aftermath of the downing of Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, the Syrian civil war, the battles of Mosul in Iraq, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, including the blockade of Mariupol. For this work, he received the Deutsche Welle Freedom of Speech Award, the Giorgi Gongadze Prize, the Knight International Journalism Awards, the Biagio Agnes Award, the Bayeux Calvados-Normandy Award, the Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award, and the Free Media Awards. In 2022, he was included in the ratings “People of NV 2022 in the Year of War” and “14 Songs, Photos and Art Objects that Became Symbols of Ukrainian Resistance” by Forbes Ukraine, and video footage from Mariupol became the basis for the film “20 Days in Mariupol,” which in 2024 was awarded an Oscar for the first time in the history of Ukrainian cinema.

Social networks of the photographer:  Facebook  Instagram‍

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We worked on the material:
Researcher of the topic, author of the text: Vira Labych
Editorial director: Olga Kovaleva
Literary editor: Yulia Futey
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