300 civilians may have died in the attack on the theater of the besieged city. The UN Human Rights Office begins an investigation.
Mariupol. For days, helpers tried to save the survivors from the bombing. On Friday, new, shocking data appeared: about 300 people may have died in the attack on the theater in Mariupol in south-eastern Ukraine. This was reported by the administration of the city of Mariupol, citing eyewitness accounts. According to Ukrainian sources, hundreds of people were hiding in the theater in the city center. Then the building was hit by a Russian air raid. The photos show that part of the theater is in ruins. Moscow denies that it bombed the building.
“You want to believe that everyone is safe to the end,” Mariupol’s administration told Telegram on Friday. “However, the testimony of those who were in the building at the time of this terrorist act says the opposite.” The adviser to the mayor of Mariupol declined to comment when asked by the AFP news agency. “There will probably be more information by tonight,” said the consultant. A week ago, Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky reported that more than 130 people had been rescued from the destroyed theater, but that “hundreds” remained trapped under the rubble.
Mass grave with 200 killed
In connection with the massive Russian attacks in Ukraine, the United Nations Human Rights Office has also launched an investigation. On Friday, the office released satellite photos from the Mariupol region showing a mass grave with around 200 dead. However, it is not clear whether these are civilian casualties or fallen soldiers; or about people who died in part from the breakdown of healthcare.
In addition, the UN Human Rights Office said it had documented clear signs of Russian war crimes. However, a final assessment was not yet possible, said Matylda Bogner, the head of the Ukrainian office, on Friday in Geneva. Reports are analyzed that the Russian military fired at people fleeing in cars or at demonstrations. Among other things, the workers also noticed the use of cluster munitions. The Office is also analyzing reports on the use of phosphorus ammunition. Such incendiary bombs or grenades ignite when fired on contact with oxygen and cause devastating damage. Moscow has now denied Ukrainian President Zelensky’s allegations that civilians – including children – were killed in a Russian phosphorus attack on Thursday.
The UN Human Rights Bureau also accused the Ukrainian side: There were reports that internationally banned cluster munitions were also used by the Ukrainian armed forces. In addition, areas in eastern Ukraine held by separatists were under massive shelling. In two cases, people were killed because of alleged pro-Russian attitudes.
According to Bogner, the size of civilian casualties and the destruction of civilian facilities strongly suggest that various principles of international war law were violated during the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine: the prohibition of attacks without distinction, the principle of distinguishing between military and civilian. objectives, the specification that military action must be proportionate. UN officials have documented the deaths of at least 1,035 civilians. But according to Bogner, the true death toll is much higher.
(“Die Presse”, print edition, March 26, 2022)