The Center for Spatial Technologies (CST) has launched a website to research the attack on the Mariupol Drama Theater called Spatial Archive. To create the archive, the project team collected thousands of photos, 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of the tragedy and the systematic destruction of evidence by the Russian Federation, these materials are an important historical document,” the project team says.
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 included 3D models, diagrams, and visualizations. The site also includes three essays that explore the role of the theater as a shelter, analyze the consequences of the attack, and document Russia’s attempts to cover up war crimes.
According to the project team, the witnesses recorded both the difficult conditions in the theater, the destruction of the city and the theater itself, and the collective practices of self-organization and mutual assistance.
In addition, the authors prepared two analytical reports. The report by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) is a legal analysis of the attack, which argues that the Russian bombing of the theater is likely a war crime. The second report, by defense consultant Gareth Collett, provides a technical analysis of the explosion and speculates on the type of weapon used against the civilian shelter.
“The Spatial Archive was realized with the research support of Forensis and Forensic Architecture, as well as with the support of the EU and the International Renaissance Foundation. It is available here.
Source: Detector Media
