A theater that became one of the bombed out symbols of a Russian siege of the city of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine in 2022 has reopened after a huge redevelopment, Russian authorities have announced.
A special ceremony and a show by performers from Mariupol and the Russian city of Saint Petersburg were held on Sunday, with Russian television showing images of the gala event as well as the theater's rebuilt marble staircase and columns, and a 2.5 tonne crystal chandelier hanging in the auditorium.
Russian forces rolled into Mariupol, a bustling Black Sea coast city, in the first months of its assault in 2022 and imposed a brutal, nearly three month siege that resulted in thousands of deaths — 8,000 according to Human Rights Watch, and 22,000 according to the city's exiled Ukrainian mmunicipal council.
Amnesty International said at least 12 people were killed in the bombing of the theater.
The city on the Sea of Azov was devastated and some 300,000 of the pre-conflict population of 540,000 fled. The UN said 90% of the buildings were destroyed or damaged in the siege. Russia has since sought to turn Mariupol into a new symbol of prosperity in the parts of Ukraine it controls.
Amnesty International said at least 12 people were killed in the bombing of the theater in 2022.
"Mariupol Drama Theater has reopened its doors to spectators" after a three year redevelopment, said Denis Puchilin, the pro-Russian leader in the Donetsk region that includes the city.
The theater's "historic image" has been restored with its sculptured facade and "modern equipment of the highest level," he added in comments on Telegram.
The former Russian imperial capital of Saint Petersburg was a major contributor to the restoration, sending workers and architects to Mariupol, according to Saint Petersburg governor Alexander Beglov.
Beglov, who was in the 500 audience on Sunday, called the rebuilding project "a question of honour."
In September 2022, Russia announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions — Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia — even though it does not fully control the areas.