The Russians dismantled the rubble of the Drama Theater in Mariupol/Petr Andryushchenko's telegrams

On Friday, May 20, the Russian occupiers finished removing the rubble and removing the bodies from the Drama Theater in Mariupol, which they bombed on March 16.

The Russians have already taken their equipment from the facility and opened the area. But now it will be impossible to determine how many people were killed by the invaders who were hiding in the premises at the time of the airstrike.

It is known that the dead were buried under unmarked numbers in a mass grave in Mangush.

Now we will never know how many Mariupol civilians were actually killed by a Russian bomb in the Drama Theater. The dead are buried under nameless numbers in a mass grave in Mangush. If there is a greater war crime against humanity in the 21st century, I don't know which one. Rage. Just rage,” wrote Piotr Andryushchenko, adviser to the mayor of Mariupol.

What you should know about the strike on the Mariupol Drama Theatre

On March 16, 2022, the Russians launched an air strike on the Donetsk Drama Theater in Mariupol. The locals used it as a bomb shelter. The theater building at that time was the largest refuge for local residents, where you can get help and find out information.

According to various sources, in particular, according to survivors, about a thousand civilians were hiding in the theater at the time of the strike. Capital letters with the inscription “CHILDREN” were displayed around the theater, but this did not stop the “rashists”.

On March 17, it became known that the theater's bomb shelter had survived. After the rescuers dismantled one of the entrances to the bomb shelter, people began to emerge from there.

The exact number of dead and rescued is still unknown. On March 18, 130 survivors were reported. About 600 people were killed in the bombing, according to AP. In particular, people who were in the field kitchen or indoors died, because not everyone was in the bomb shelter.

Earlier, Pyotr Andryushchenko said that the Russian invaders were “cleansing” the rubble of the drama theater, which was bombed in order to hide the perpetrators of the crimes. Residents of the city are not allowed to parse the rubble so that they can identify the dead.

What is happening in Mariupol: the main thing

• Almost the entire city is temporarily occupied by Russians. About a quarter of the pre-war population remains in Mariupol.
• There is a humanitarian crisis in the city – there is no access to normal water, sewerage, electricity and gas supplies also do not work.
• There are very few doctors left in Mariupol therefore people do not have access to professional medical care. The medicine has also run out in the city.
• In addition, Mariupol is currently on the verge of an environmental disaster.
• The occupiers are trying to impose the opinion that people have been abandoned territory controlled by Ukraine. Also, the civilian population is forced to give written “evidence” that “the destruction of the city was caused by the Ukrainian army.” Thus, Russia is trying to cover up its crimes and shift its blame to Ukraine.