AP Investigation Shows Around 600 Dead In Russian Strike On Mariupol Theater
AP Investigation Shows Around 600 Dead In Russian Strike On Mariupol Theater
A woman walks next to an armored vehicle manned by pro-Russian troops outside the desroyed Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater in Mariupol on April 10.
The Associated Press says it has conducted an investigation that shows about 600 civilians died when Russia attacked a theater in the port city of Mariupol that was being used as a bomb shelter.
The exact number of deaths as a result of the March 16 air strike on Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater, which was clearly marked outside as being a place where children were located, has been unknown as heavy fighting has kept authorities from properly sifting through the debris.
While Ukrainian officials have said at least 300 people died in the attack, AP said that, in a recreation of the events based on the accounts of 23 survivors, rescuers, and people intimately familiar with its new life as a bomb shelter, the figure is at least twice as high.
The news agency said it also drew on two sets of floor plans of the theater, photos and video taken inside before, during, and after that day, and feedback from experts who reviewed the methodology. It also used 3D modeling to recreate the situation.
Mariupol, As It Was
1/18Mariupol's main train station photographed in 2013
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
2/18Mariupol's railway station in April 2022. The station is situated just one kilometer from the Azovstal factory, where Ukrainian fighters are making their last stand against pro-Russian forces in the city.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
3/18The Donetsk Regional Drama Theater, in central Mariupol, photographed in May 2021.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
4/18The Mariupol theater in April 2022, after a reported missile or shelling attack destroyed the historic building and killed many inside.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
5/18An undated photo of a shopping center in the west of Mariupol.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
6/18The shopping center photographed in April 2022 after being destroyed during fighting on Mariupol's outskirts.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
7/18Mariupol's Sultan Suleiman Mosque and Islamic Cultural Center photographed in 2009.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
8/18A pro-Russian militant walks past the battle-damaged mosque in April 2022.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
9/18A Ukrainian patrol boat moors in the port of Mariupol just two weeks before the February 24 Russian invasion.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
10/18A destroyed Ukrainian vessel inside the Mariupol port in April 2022.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
11/18Mariupol locals walking in front of the Donetsk Regional Drama Theater during a French-themed festival in 2019.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
12/18An elderly woman walks past the destroyed theater and an armored vehicle of pro-Russian forces in April 2022.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
13/18A woman emerges from an underpass at a crossroads in the center of Mariupol. Since this photo was taken in 2019, the building in background had a pyramid-shaped roof added to its turret.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
14/18An aerial view of the crossroads and the same turreted building in April 2022.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
15/18Trains on tracks that run alongside the coast near Mariupol station before the 2022 invasion. The Azovstal factory is visible in the background.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
16/18Burned-out trains on the same coastal track photographed in 2022. The slagheap in the background is on the site of the Azovstal factory.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
17/18One of two historic "spire houses" in the center of Mariupol, photographed in May 2021.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
18/18Russian troops unloading an armored vehicle near the Stalinist-era spire house in April 2022.
Photos from before and during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine highlight the devastating toll suffered by the southeastern Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which was a relatively prosperous industrial city before the war.
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While Russia has denied targeting civilians since it launched its unprovoked attack on Ukraine on February 24, mounting evidence tells a different story. The air strike on the theater in Mariupol stands out as the single deadliest known attack against civilians to date.
“All the people are still under the rubble, because the rubble is still there -- no one dug them up,” AP quoted Oksana Syomina, who survived the deadly attack, as saying.
