In Ukraine, a website has been launched to investigate the attack on the Mariupol Drama Theater.
This was reported by the Center for Spatial Technologies.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation into Ukraine, the Mariupol Drama Theater has served as a shelter for thousands of civilians. However, on March 16, 2022, the building of the drama theater was bombed by the Russian army.
Investigating the attack on the Mariupol Drama Theater, the team of the Center for Spatial Technologies created a "Spatial Archive."
This archive website is a reflection formed in close cooperation with people who witnessed the attack. The team collected and analyzed thousands of:
- photographs,
- videos,
- satellite images,
- social media posts.
In addition, over 100 hours of conversations with witnesses of this Russian aggression were recorded.
The "Spatial Archive" consists of:
- Ten videos with witnesses of the explosion, created in the format of spatial interviews, and one in-depth interview.
- Diagrams, visualizations, and 3D models that provide spatial dimensions to the research results, revealing the key method of analysis used by the team.
- Three research texts with the results of the investigation, telling about the role of the theater as a shelter and analyzing the consequences of the attack. They document and describe the events in the city and the theater during the siege, as well as reflect on the actions of the occupying authorities aimed at covering up this war crime.
According to the center, one of the main sources of information for the investigation was satellite imagery, as well as photos and videos from the phones of witnesses to the attack that they managed to save and pass on to us.
"From the beginning, these photos documented the destruction of the city and the theater itself, as well as the difficult conditions for people hiding there. But at the same time, they captured collective practices of mutual aid and self-organization that existed in this space," added the center.
Recall that during the siege of Mariupol on March 16, Russian troops dropped a bomb on the roof of the Mariupol Drama Theater, where hundreds of civilians were taking shelter from shelling. According to preliminary data, from 500 to 1200 civilians were hiding there.
According to the city council, about 300 people were killed then, but the Associated Press news agency conducted its own investigation and concluded that as a result of the air strike, the number of casualties could have been about 600 people.
