Russians drop heavy bomb on Mariupol Drama Theater, where hundreds seek shelter
ROMAN PETRENKO - WEDNESDAY, MARCH 16, 2022, 18:26
Russian troops have dropped a heavy bomb on the Mariupol Drama Theater, a shelter for hundreds who have lost their homes in the war.
Source: Mariupol City Council; Azov Regiment; MP from the "Batkivshchyna" party; and ex-head of the Donetsk Regional State Administration Serhiy Taruta, on Facebook
Quote from the City Council: "‘Ruscist’ troops deliberately and cynically destroyed the Drama Theatre in the heart of Mariupol. A plane dropped a bomb on a building where hundreds of peaceful Mariupol residents were hiding. It is not yet possible to estimate the scale of this horrific and inhumane act because the residential areas of the city are still being shelled.
The shelling destroyed the central part of the Drama Theater, and rubble blocked the entrance to the bomb shelter located in the building."
Quote from Azov: "According to eyewitnesses, the Russian occupation forces dropped a heavy bomb on the Mariupol Drama Theater.
The Drama Theatre, the city's cultural centre, was a designated refugee centre for those who have lost their homes and means of subsistence. The Russians had to know this as it was an officially designated place.
Almost a thousand civilians from Mariupol were hiding in the theatre. The number of dead and wounded is currently unknown. Many Mariupol residents were there with small children.
This theatre was a shelter in which the inhabitants of besieged Mariupol escaped from continuous shelling."
Taruta's quote: "We don’t know how many people are trapped under the rubble. There are heavy battles happening now. No one can reach the rubble; we don't know if anyone survived. And the worst thing is that we can't get them out from under the rubble. Many Mariupol residents hid in the theatre with small children! The bomb shelter in the theatre is also blocked by the rubble, there are also people there, including children!"
Details: At the time of the explosion, Russian mass media was spreading false information that the Drama Theatre was a "headquarters of Ukrainian militants."
