Russian occupation authorities in Mariupol have announced the completion of "restoration" work on the drama theater that Russian forces destroyed in March 2022, the Mariupol City Council reports.
The Russians claimed that restoration work is finishing and they plan to open the theater to visitors in December.
On 16 March 2022, Russian military dropped an aerial bomb on the drama theater in Mariupol. At that time, hundreds of locals could have been inside, hiding and waiting for evacuation from the city.
After capturing Mariupol, the Russian occupying authorities announced they had finished clearing the debris from the theater. However, determining exactly how many people died there will likely prove impossible. Mariupol city authorities stated an estimated 300 deaths, while an Associated Press investigation cited twice that number.
Journalist Yuriy Butusov published intercepted conversations of a Russian burial team in Mariupol discussing the use of equipment, including tractors, to remove bodies from the drama theater.
The Mariupol City Council reported that occupation "investigators" claimed the smell of corpses in the drama theater came not from hundreds killed in the Russian airstrike, but from a hidden warehouse of rotten fish.
