Lviv, Ukraine (EFE).— Yesterday, thousands of Ukrainians remembered the victims of the Russian attack on the Mariupol Drama Theater on March 16, 2022, where hundreds of civilians – including children – took refuge during the siege of the port city on the Sea of Azov.
Four years after the bombing, carried out with two 500-kilogram bombs, the exact number of deaths is still unknown due to the Russian occupation and the subsequent destruction of the remains of the building.
Displaced residents of Mariupol and other citizens participated in candlelight rallies to honor the victims and remember one of the most symbolic episodes of the devastation caused by Russia in the Donetsk region. The theater became an emblem of the destruction suffered by this largely Russian-speaking city during the 2022 offensive.
During an event near the Lviv Opera House, journalist Alevtina Shvetsova, originally from Mariupol, recalled the persistent pain among the city’s inhabitants.
“March is when most residents share their grief over the death of their loved ones,” he said. At the site, the word “children” in Russian was recreated, which had been painted in front of the theater as a plea to avoid the air attack.
Alevtina said that she left the besieged city on foot on the same day of the bombing and saw the enormous column of smoke coming out of the building. “Four years later, many still post in online groups dedicated to searching for the deceased and say they don’t know what happened to their bodies or where they were buried,” he explained.
Estimates of victims vary from more than a dozen to nearly 600, while organizations such as Human Rights Watch consider the attack “a Russian war crime,” as there was no Ukrainian military presence at the scene.
The theater served as a refuge for hundreds of residents whose homes had been destroyed by the fighting. According to volunteer records, more than a thousand people could have been there before the attack. Oksana Gnatishin, director of the Mariupol Art School, recalled that she and her family avoided going to the theater even though it had been designated as an evacuation point. “We could have been there too… but we decided to stay home, which probably saved our lives,” he said. He added that during the siege the city lived under constant bombardment, with “constant fear of death, hunger, cold and lack of water, communication and basic hygiene.”
At a glance
Thousands of victims
Based on satellite images of graves that appeared around Mariupol in the months after its capture by Russia, the investigative NGO Truth Hounds counted at least 8,034 victims.
“Underestimation”
However, he warns that this figure is “a significant underestimate,” as many bodies were probably never recovered from the rubble or numerous makeshift graves.
Verified deaths
Only 1,348 verified deaths are included in the UN’s official civilian casualty count of the Russian invasion, which currently exceeds 15,000 victims.
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