3. THE ATTACK
The attack on the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theatre occurred on 16 March 2022, shortly after 10am. At the time of the attack, hundreds of civilians were in and around the theatre. The theatre was clearly recognizable as a civilian object, perhaps more so than any other location in the city. There was no significant military presence in or near the building. The attack was most likely carried out by Russian fighter aircraft employing two 500kg bombs that struck close to each other and detonated at the same time. It is plausible, though less likely, that only one bomb was used. It is also plausible, though much less likely, that one or two Russian cruise missiles were used. An examination of satellite imagery and of photographs and videos taken after the strike reveals that explosive ordnance pierced the roof of the eastern side of the theatre and detonated in the performance space, most likely at stage level. Based on the testimony from one person who transited a corridor below the stage after the detonation (see below), it appears the ordnance detonated approximately at the surface of the frangible platform of the stage, rather than penetrating all the way into the lowest level of the theatre. A nose fuse set for impact, or with a slight delay, would produce this effect.87 When the ordnance detonated, it destroyed the adjacent interior walls framing the wings of the performance space and then breached the exterior load-bearing walls, creating two main debris fields on the northeastern and south-western sides of the building. Both debris fields are visible on satellite imagery taken minutes after the strike. (See satellite imagery on page 31.) The damage to these exterior walls – which does not extend completely to the base of the wall, and did not dig out a crater at the wall’s foundation – is consistent with ordnance that detonated at stage level, rather than below ground. In addition, the larger debris field on the south-western side of the building, compared to that on the north-eastern side, indicates that the ordnance did not hit symmetrically or precisely in the centre of the performance space. As seen in photos taken by witnesses immediately after the blast, a main section of the roof decking had dropped on the north-eastern side of the building. The main superstructure of the roof failed and then fell
87 For example, Russian AVU-series fuzes, which are often used with FAB and OFAB bombs, have delay settings of instantaneous, short delay (0.025 seconds), and medium delay (0.075 seconds), see Collective Awareness to UXO (CAT-UXO), “AVU-ET Fuze”, cat-uxo.com/explosive-hazards/fuzes/avu-et-fuze
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Amnesty International
“ 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
