Here is the report with the evidence of the deliberate destruction of the families’ refuge during the siege of the Ukrainian port city
ROME. The evidence gathered by Amnesty International in Mariupol documents without any doubt the war crimes committed by the Kremlin and pins Moscow to its responsibilities. On March 16, two Russian airstrikes deliberately targeted the theater used as a refuge during the siege of the Ukrainian port city. The NGO demonstrates this in a report released today in which the attack is defined as a “war crime”. Furthermore, “there is no indication that the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater was a base of operations for Ukrainian soldiers,” as Russia has argued.
Looking for protection
In fact, at the time, it was widely known that the Mariupol theater was a refuge for civilians seeking protection from weeks of incessant bombing and air strikes. The airstrike on March 16 devastated the building from its foundations. City officials initially estimated around 300 dead. An Associated Press investigation found that the attack may have killed more than 600 people inside and outside the facility. “At the time – says Amnesty International – it was widely known that the theater was a refuge for civilians in search of protection after weeks of incessant bombing and air strikes”. The air raid on March 16 destroyed the building.
Destruction
The theater of the city in south-east Ukraine, completely destroyed in the attack, was in fact used as a refuge by many people, especially women and children. The witnesses are 23 people including survivors, rescuers and residents who have known how things worked since it became a shelter for civilians. The structure was also analyzed starting from photos and videos shot inside it before, during and after the bombing. With the reconstruction of the places where people had taken refuge inside. According to the testimonies of the survivors in the theater there were about a thousand people, a figure that corresponds to the first estimates of the Ukrainian authorities immediately after the bombing. All the witnesses heard said that at the time of the attack near a kitchen set up outside the building there were at least 100 people, none of whom survived. Also according to the testimonies, all the boxes and corridors of the theater were full of people (including some families with small children): however, they would have managed to escape no more than 200, in particular from the main entrance and from a side exit still usable afterwards. the attack.
Investigation
The investigation also denies the version of the bombing given by the Russian authorities, who had denied having carried out air operations in the area where the theater stood, arguing instead that the building had been destroyed by Ukrainian forces or was used as a military base. by the Ukrainians. None of the people interviewed said they had seen Ukrainian soldiers inside the theater, and according to testimonies they all knew that this was Mariupol’s main place of refuge. Finally, the satellite images taken before the bombing showed that the word “children” had been written in huge characters on the squares in front and behind the theater, so that it could also be seen from the sky.
Unlimited access to all site content
€ 1 / month for 3 months, then € 3.99 / month for 3 months
Unlock unlimited access to all content on the site
#Amnesty #International #nails #Moscow #War #crime #Russian #attack #Mariupol #theater #civilians #killed #word #children