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Russia Turns Mariupol Drama Theater Into Propaganda Film Set to Rewrite Deadly 2022 Attack
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Russia has released a new propaganda film titled Witnesses, which Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said seeks to distort the circumstances surrounding the destruction of the Mariupol Drama Theater in March 2022.
According to Lubinets on August 22, the pseudo-documentary was filmed in part on the stage of the rebuilt theater—the same site where the bodies of Mariupol residents remained beneath the rubble following the attack.
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“This is not merely a lie. It is a mockery of the memory of the dead and an attempt to turn the scene of the crime into a backdrop for its denial,” Lubinets said.
The Mariupol Drama Theater was sheltering hundreds of civilians, including children, women, and elderly people, when it was destroyed on March 16, 2022. The Russian word for “children”—“ДЕТИ”—had been written in large letters outside the building and was clearly visible from the air.
“The enemy knew there were civilians inside. And yet they dropped the bombs anyway. Hundreds of lives were cut short in an instant,” Lubinets said.
An Associated Press investigation later found evidence indicating that around 600 people were killed inside and outside the theater, while survivors interviewed by the outlet suggested the death toll could have been even higher.
Amnesty International also conducted an independent investigation into the attack, concluding that the most likely cause of the theater’s destruction was a deliberate Russian airstrike, probably involving two 500-kilogram bombs. According to the investigation, the pattern of damage was consistent with aerial bombs penetrating the building’s roof before detonating.
Lubinets said Russia’s narrative that the theater had been blown up from within did not emerge from an investigation into the attack. Instead, he said Moscow had begun promoting the claim even before the theater was destroyed.
“The narrative of an "internal explosion" is not the result of any investigation. Russia began spreading this version even before the strike, laying the groundwork in advance. After the tragedy, this lie simply gained new actors to play the role of ‘witnesses,’” Lubinets said.
In response to the release of the film, the Ukrainian ombudsman said he had sent letters to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, the International Criminal Court, Amnesty International, UNESCO, the European Parliament, and the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe.
Lubinets called on the organizations to assess what he described as Russia’s latest attempt to falsify the circumstances surrounding the destruction of the theater and to take the information campaign into account when documenting Russian crimes.
He also urged the European Union to address what he described as systematic Russian efforts to deny or distort documented war crimes through propaganda and disinformation. Lubinets called for consideration of EU sanctions against individuals, media organizations, and other entities involved in systematic campaigns aimed at falsifying or denying Russian war crimes.
“The Mariupol Drama Theatre is a crime scene, not a backdrop for Russian propaganda. Russia may erect new walls over the site of the tragedy. But it will not be able to erect a wall between the truth and the world,” Lubinets said. “The evidence remains. The testimonies remain. People’s memories remain. And no Russian propaganda film will change that,” he concluded.
The filming follows the reconstruction of the theater by Russian occupation authorities, who previously announced that “restoration work” on the building had been completed. In November, the Mariupol City Council reported that the rebuilt theater was expected to open the following month.
“The site that became one of the largest scenes of a Russian war crime is now being transformed into a venue for Russian performances and concerts,” the Mariupol City Council said in a statement on Telegram.
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-da37d3e6af4b22b3b29ee78f4d4d266e.jpeg "Smoke rises over Orenburg following a Ukrainian drone attack on August 23, 2026. (Source: Exilenova+)")
