Russian Air Strike Was FAR Deadlier Than Originally Anticipated — Body Count Mounts
(FeaturedNews.com) – The story of the March 16 bombing of the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater in Mariupol, Ukraine, went from bad to worse after the Associated Press released a heartbreaking investigative piece highlighting the horrors of that day. At the time, news reports speculated that hundreds may have died, but with Russian forces occupying the seaside city, nobody knew for sure. The AP’s investigation concluded that as many as 600 people lost their lives in the tragedy, labeled by some in the international community as a war crime.
The AP followed the evidence, which shows the Russian Air Force likely hit the iconic theater with a 500-kilogram munition from an aircraft. The theater was a known shelter for the city, with the word “children” prominently displayed in the parking lot in white paint. The AP investigation concluded that up to 1,200 people were likely in the building and that only about half of them made it out alive.
Amid all the horrors that have unfolded in the war on Ukraine, the Russian bombing of the drama theater in Mariupol on March 16 stands out as the single deadliest known attack against civilians to date. https://t.co/TSnnBuhJ9J
— CBS News (@CBSNews) May 4, 2022
AP journalists interviewed eyewitnesses with intensely sad stories of their escape. Oksana Syomina, the featured interviewee of the story, talked of the horrors of leaving the deceased behind, especially the children, and running for her life. Syomina and a group of about 30 others ran to the Sea of Azov and up the shoreline for miles without looking back.
As the Russians refuse to grant anyone full access to the site, the whereabouts or condition of the remains and — of course — the exact number may never be known.
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