600 people died in Mariupol Drama Theater – AP
The Associated Press investigation says the russian attack on the Mariupol Drama Theater was actually much more deadly than expected, killing about 600 people.
All witnesses said that at least 100 people were in the field kitchen near the house, and no one survived. They also said that the rooms and corridors inside the building were overcrowded, about one person for every 3 square meters.
Many survivors estimate that about 1,000 people were inside during the airstrike, but no one saw more than 200 that escaped.
The investigation also refutes russia’s allegations that the theater served as a Ukrainian military base. None of the witnesses saw the Ukrainian military operating inside the building. And no one doubted that the theater was destroyed by an attack by russian aircraft.
On March 16, the russian forces dropped a heavy bomb on the Mariupol Drama Theater, where refugees who had lost their homes were hiding. The Mariupol City Council reported that about 300 people died in the drama theater as a result of the bombing by a russian plane.