THE BOMBING OF THE MARIUPOL DRAMA THEATER BY RUSSIAN FORCES: A WAR CRIME AND THE FATES OF THE VICTIMS

Abstract

The author of the article outlines the process of the russian military‟s capture of the city of Mariupol at the onset of the large-scale invasion in 2022 and provides a detailed analysis of the bombing of the Mariupol Drama Theater and its consequences. The researcher identifies the reasons why the theater became a shelter for refugees and reconstructs the process of civilians gathering in the theater building, their living conditions, and the organization of a volunteer center. It is established that there were no military personnel or police present inside the theater, which leads the author to classify the russian strike on the cultural site as a war crime.

The article provides characteristics of the weapons used in the attack, assesses the human casualties and the scale of destruction, and describes efforts to rescue those affected after the bombing.

The researcher argues that the russian forces aimed not only to capture Mariupol but also to carry out a demonstrative massacre of its residents as punishment for rejecting the pro-russian orientation back in 2014 – an intention clearly illustrated by the bombing of a theater filled with civilians.

The article also traces the fates of the bombing victims and the subsequent fate of the theater‟s creative team. Victims suffered material losses, physical and psychological abuse by russian troops and officials, and endured filtration camps. Meanwhile, the russian occupation authorities cynically held public events near the theater ruins and launched a fake reconstruction effort to conceal evidence of the crime.

The fate of the victims of the Mariupol Drama Theater bombing serves as a vivid example of the widespread war crimes committed by russian forces and of russia‟s state policy aimed at destroying Ukrainians as a nation – thus meeting the definition of genocide. The author believes that the international community must ensure that those responsible for the crimes committed in Mariupol are brought to justice.