1. BACKGROUND
Mariupol is located in south-eastern Ukraine on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, near the mouth of the Kalmius River. Before the current conflict it was home to approximately half a million people. Nearly half of the city identifies as ethnically Russian and nearly half identifies as ethnically Ukrainian; the city also has a significant ethnic Greek community. Mariupol was a major industrial hub and is home to two of Ukraine’s largest iron and steel factories, the Illich Iron and Steel Works and the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works. Mariupol is divided into four administrative districts: •
Prymorskyi district, often referred to as “the port”;
•
Kalmiuskyi district, often called “the factory” and home to the Illich Iron and Steel Works;
•
Livoberezhnyi district, often referred to as the “Left Bank” and home to the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works;
•
Tsentralnyi district, often called the “the City Centre” and home to the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre.
Mariupol is widely perceived to be of strategic importance to the Russian Federation’s military campaign in Ukraine: its capture is essential to controlling the entirety of the Sea of Azov and to establishing an uninterrupted land bridge between Russian forces in Russia and in Crimea, which was occupied and illegally annexed by Russia in 2014.1 In 2014, Mariupol was the scene of significant fighting between Ukrainian forces and Russian and Russian-backed forces of the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic.2 The Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre – an arts education and performing arts centre built in 1960 – was one of the city’s cultural landmarks.
1
BBC News, “Mariupol: Why Mariupol is so important to Russia’s plan,” 21 March 2022, bbc.com/news/world-europe-60825226
2 Reuters,” Ukrainian forces reclaim port city from rebels,” 13 June 2014, reuters.com/article/us-urkaine-crisis-mariupolidUSKBN0EO0KP20140613
“ C H I L D R E N ” : T H E AT TA C K O N T H E D O N E T S K R E G I O N A L A C A D E M I C D R A M A T H E AT R E I N M A R I U P O L , U K R A I N E
Amnesty International
|
9
