Overview
- Moscow-installed authorities staged a televised reopening of the Donetsk Academic Regional Drama Theater on Sunday with performers from Mariupol and St. Petersburg.
- Denis Pushilin and St. Petersburg Governor Alexander Beglov attended, with Beglov calling the rebuild “a question of honor” and crediting St. Petersburg workers and architects.
- An Associated Press investigation found the March 16, 2022 airstrike on the theater killed about 600 people and refuted Russia’s claim that Ukrainian forces demolished the building.
- Mariupol’s exiled city council denounced the event as “singing and dancing on bones,” calling the project an attempt to hide a war crime and enforce Russification.
- State media showcased restored marble features and a 2.5‑ton crystal chandelier, while St. Petersburg outlet Bumaga estimated reconstruction spending at up to 13 billion rubles.