Archive investigating Russian attack on Mariupol Theatre launched in Ukraine with EU support

The Centre for Spatial Technologies (CST) has launched a website, the ‘Spatial Archive’, to research the attack on the Mariupol Drama Theatre. 

The Archive is implemented with the research support of Forensis and Forensic Architecture, with the financial support of the EU and the International Renaissance Foundation.

The website now features 12 “spatial interviews” with witnesses of the explosion, which were created with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation. They include 3D models, diagrams, and visualisations. The site also features three essays that explore the role of the theatre as a shelter, analyse the consequences of the attack, and document Russia’s attempts to cover up war crimes.

To create the archive, the project team collected thousands of photographs, satellite images, videos and social media posts, and recorded over a hundred hours of interviews with witnesses to the attack.

“Due to the lack of direct access to the site of the tragedy and the systematic destruction of evidence by the Russian Federation, these materials are an important historical document,” the project team says.

According to it, the recorded testimonies recorded both the harsh conditions of life in the theatre, the destruction of the town and the theatre itself, and the collective practices of self-organisation and mutual aid.

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Press release

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