Russian occupation forces reopened the Mariupol theater Moscow bombed in 2022. Here’s what it looks like today.

On December 28, Russian occupation authorities held a reopening ceremony for the Mariupol Drama Theater, a landmark cultural institution in the occupied Ukrainian city that was destroyed by a Russian airstrike in the spring of 2022. Attendees included Denis Pushilin, head of the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic”; St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov; and Russian presidential envoy Igor Rudenya. Russian state media framed the reconstruction as preserving the building’s historic façade while redesigning the rest to meet “modern standards.”

At the time of the bombing, the Mariupol Drama Theater was sheltering an estimated 1,000 civilians. The word “children” had been written in large letters on the ground in front of the building, visible from the air. Russian authorities have denied responsibility for the attack, instead blaming Ukrainian forces — a claim contradicted by multiple independent investigations by journalists and human rights organizations.

The exact death toll remains unknown. Ukrainian authorities initially reported that approximately 300 people were killed, while an investigation by the Associated Press estimated as many as 600 fatalities. An Amnesty International investigation later confirmed the identities of at least 12 people killed but noted that the true number of deaths was likely significantly higher. Meduza shares photos of the theater after the bombing and after the Russian occupation forces’ reconstruction.