Amnesty International: the russian attack on the drama theater in Mariupol was conducted deliberately, it was a war crime

russia's attack on the drama theater in Mariupol, as a result of which about 600 people were killed, was a war crime. This was the conclusion made by the international human rights organization Amnesty International during the investigation.

The organization released a report, “Children: The Attack on the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre in Mariupol, Ukraine”, which revealed how the russian military had deliberately bombed the theater despite knowing there had been hundreds of civilians inside.

Amnesty International also interviewed citizens who survived the attack and collected digital evidence.

Amnesty International commissioned a physicist to build a mathematical model of the detonation, to determine the net explosive weight (NEW) of the blast which would be required to cause the level of destruction seen at the theatre. The conclusion was that the russian fighter had dropped two bombs weighing from 400 to 800 kg, which exploded simultaneously.

LThe most likely russian conducted the strike with fighters Su-25, Su-30, or Su-34, which were based at nearby russian airfields, and frequently seen operating over southern Ukraine.

Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard said that the International Criminal Court should investigate this crime.

“After months of rigorous investigation, analysis of satellite imagery and interviews with dozens of witnesses, we concluded that the strike was a clear war crime committed by russian forces. Many people were injured and killed in this merciless attack. Their deaths were likely caused by russian forces deliberately targeting Ukrainian civilians. The International Criminal Court, and all others with jurisdiction over crimes committed during this conflict, must investigate this attack as a war crime. All those responsible must be held accountable for causing such death and destruction,” the statement said.

russian bombs struck the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre in Mariupol on March 16. Associated Press journalists, who interviewed eyewitnesses, came to the conclusion that about 600 people were killed as a result of the strike.

Also, the employees of the information agency used two plans of the theater premises, photographs and video recordings taken both before and after the airstrike, as well as experts' conclusions to estimate the number of victims.

Before that, the Mariupol authorities concluded that at least 300 people had died during the bombing of the theater: this figure was given by two surviving witnesses. Due to the impossibility of finding the remains of those who died after the powerful explosion, a police officer and an employee of the Red Cross came to the conclusion that there were about 500 victims. AP suggests that some of the human remains could have been taken from the site of the airstrike by the russian military, which occupied Mariupol.