As reported 24 ChannelsThe team collected and analyzed thousands of photos, videos, satellite images and social media posts and recorded more than 100 hours of interviews with witnesses.

On March 16, 2022, Russia dropped an aerial bomb on the Mariupol Drama Theater building. On the eve of the attack, the theater was used as a hiding place for thousands of civilians.

The “spatial archive” consists of:

• Ten videos featuring witnesses of the explosion, created in the format of spatial interviews and an in-depth interview.
• Diagrams, visualizations and 3D models that add a spatial dimension to the research results reveal the basic analysis method used by the team.
• Three research papers containing research findings discussing the role of the theater as a refuge and analyzing the aftermath of the attack. They document and describe the events that took place in the city and the theater during the siege, and also reflect the actions of the occupation authorities to conceal this war crime.

One of the main sources of information for the research was satellite images, as well as photographs and videos that eyewitnesses of the attack managed to record and transmit from their phones. From the beginning, these photographs documented the destruction of the city and the theater and the difficult conditions of the people hiding there. But they also noted the collective practices of mutual aid and self-organization that existed in this area.

The project was implemented with the research support of Forensis and Forensic Architecture. The website and interview were prepared with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Fund within the framework of the joint initiative “European Renaissance of Ukraine”.