In an investigation report published Thursday, the NGO believes that the number of victims is “probably much lower” than what had been announced, thanks to partial evacuations prior to the shot.
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The attack that destroyed Marioupol’s dramatic theater on March 16, where hundreds of Ukrainian civilians had taken refuge, is a “war crime”, said Amnesty International in a report published Thursday, June 30. According to the NGO, which investigated from March 16 to June 21 and collected fifty-three testimonies, it is “almost certainly an air strike led by the Russian army”, perpetrated “most likely with two bombs of 500 500 kilograms “.
The hypothesis that the theater was “a valid military objective” is beaten in breach. “There was no military equipment inside or close to the theater, no soldier was drawing from the [building], and no soldier [] sheltered there regularly.” In addition, the theater, located in the heart of a large park, was “clearly identifiable as a civil object, perhaps more than any other place in the city”. The strike took place on a clear morning, while the word “children” had been written in Russian on the ground in front of the front and rear entrances of the theater, in letters large enough for the planes to see them.
“The evidence strongly suggests that the theater was the target of the attack,” concludes the investigation report. Amnesty International adds that he has found “convincing evidence” to support the explanation put forward by the Russian Ministry of Defense, according to which the attack was “an operation under false flag led by the Azov regiment of the Ukrainian forces”, which, which, According to him, deliberately destroyed the interior building. 2> The number of victims remains uncertain
The exact number of victims is still uncertain, but the NGO considers it “likely” that it is “much lower than what had been announced previously”. The town hall of Marioupol said that around 300 people had been killed. A survey then carried out by Associated Press estimated the number of victims at 600. However, according to Amnesty International, “a large number of people had left the theater during the two days preceding the attack”, thanks to the partial success of “unofficial” humanitarian convoys. Most civilians who had remained “were in the basement of the theater and in other protected areas of the explosion”.
The witnesses interviewed were able to provide the complete names of four people killed. The NGO also obtained the first names of three other people who they thought they had been killed. Several survivors and other witnesses also claimed to have seen corpses of people whom they could not identify. Finally, Amnesty International believes that “at least a dozen people died in the attack, but it is likely that many other deaths have not been reported”.