Mariupol could have 300 dead in theater attack, say local officials

The Mariupol city council says that, based on eyewitness accounts, it now believes around 300 people died in an alleged Russian attack on a theater in the city on March 16. Estimates of the number of people sheltering in the theater ranged from 800 to 1,300.

Information on the full extent of the attack was slow to emerge due to the near-complete collapse of essential services in the city, including communications networks.

“Unfortunately, we started the day with bad news,” the Mariupol city council said on its Telegram channel on Friday (25).

“There is information, based on eyewitness accounts, that around 300 people died at the Drama Theater in Mariupol as a result of a bombing by Russian planes.”

“We still don’t want to believe this horror. We still want to believe that everyone managed to escape. But the words of those inside the building at the time of this terrorist act say otherwise.”

Aerial footage before the attack showed the Russian word for children painted in large letters on the floor outside the front and back of the theater building.

“The occupant knew where he was hitting. He knew what the consequences could be, and anyway, the bombs fell on this place,” the city council said in a statement.

There is still no word on possible casualties following a separate attack on an art school building in Mariupol that was also being used as a shelter.

The school was hit on March 20. Authorities estimated that around 400 people were sheltered there.

The port city in southeastern Ukraine was inhabited by around 450,000 people before the war. It has been under constant attack by Russian forces since early March, with satellite images showing significant destruction in residential areas.

The Russians deny that they are targeting civilians and accuse Nazi and nationalist battalions of not allowing the population to flee the city. The Kremlin accuses these forces of using civilians as a shield.