In February 2022, Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine. During their initial assault, they laid siege to Mariupol, a vibrant city in the country’s southeast that celebrated the arts and music and was once home to large iron and steel factories.
Now, only its charred remains are left behind.
For eight weeks, Russian forces bombed and shelled Mariupol as they clashed with Ukraine’s military. Residents cowered in basements, living in fear of airstrikes. By mid-April, when Russian forces had almost full control of the city, thousands of civilians were dead and thousands of buildings, including high-rise apartments, hospitals, and schools, were damaged or lay in ruins. About 400,000 residents had fled the city by mid-May. Those who remained spent months without electricity, running water, or health care.
For the past two years, from many angles and a variety of tools, Human Rights Watch, along with Ukrainian human rights group Truth Hounds and visual investigations agency SITU Research, documented the assault on Mariupol. We interviewed more than 200 Mariupol residents, mostly those who had fled, analyzed dozens of satellite images, and reviewed 850 photos and videos to piece together the story of Mariupol’s destruction.
