On March 16, 2022, the Russian army committed one of the gravest war crimes of its invasion of Ukraine. It dropped air bombs on the Mariupol Drama Theatre, knowing that around a thousand civilians were sheltering inside, seeking refuge from Russian shelling. It did so despite the huge inscriptions reading “Children” — written in Russian on both sides of the theatre — clearly visible from the air as a warning to any potential bomber.

In this episode, we analyse this crime with the help of a journalist who spent several years speaking with dozens of survivors. You are listening to the Explaining Ukraine podcast.

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Explaining Ukraine is a podcast by UkraineWorld, an English-language media outlet run by Internews Ukraine.

Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, Chief Editor of UkraineWorld, and President of PEN Ukraine.

Guest: James Verini, an American journalist and book writer who wrote for The New York Times and other papers. He recently published a book, The Theater: Courage and Survival in the Defining Atrocity of the Ukraine War. The book was published this year by Simon & Schuster.

Link to the book: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Theater/James-Verini/9781668062203

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Listen on various platforms: https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine

UkraineWorld: https://ukraineworld.org/en

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CONTENTS:

0:00 Intro

2:40 Why does the guest call the Mariupol drama theater bombing the "defining atrocity" of the Russian war against Ukraine?

5:48 What made Mariupol particularly vulnerable to the Russian siege and bombardment?

8:51 What were the devastating living conditions for civilians in Mariupol during the siege?

9:48 Why did people consider the Mariupol drama theater a safe shelter, and how was it designated as such?

13:05 How did the theater's staff and volunteers manage to transform it into a functioning refugee shelter for thousands?

15:50 When did the bombardment of the theater occur, and why is it significant that "Children" was clearly written outside?

21:28 What were the immediate consequences of the direct bomb hits on the theater, and how did they cause such lethality?

24:49 How did the journalist connect with and interview dozens of survivors to document their experiences?

31:32 How is Russia attempting to erase the memory and culture of Ukraine in occupied Mariupol?

35:10 What is the historical context of neglecting and building over the dead in Mariupol, and how does it relate to current events?

40:10 How has the Greek heritage of Mariupol been affected by the Russian invasion and occupation?

45:37 What was the significance of the defense of Azovstal in Mariupol's story, and how did it impact civilians?

47:29 What is the final message regarding the Mariupol drama theater bombing and its implications for the war?

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Photo credit (James Verini’s portrait): Larry D. Moore, CC BY 4.0, Wikimedia Commons.