“That day, we realized the Russians had come to kill us. They didn’t come to fight with Ukrainian soldiers. They just wanted to kill us.” Before it was bombed, the Donetsk Regional Academic Drama Theater in the city of Mariupol in Ukraine was home to the largest sanctuary for residents fleeing the Russian siege. In the roughly three weeks that this improvised, citizen-led shelter existed, its inhabitants worked together to keep one another alive. As news of what was happening there spread across Ukraine, it became a national symbol of hope and resistance. When it was destroyed, it became the site of the single most lethal act of violence against Ukrainian civilians since Russia invaded on Feb. 24. The theater stands out from a war that in its short duration has taken thousands of lives. It also stands out from the siege of Mariupol, a city assaulted like no other in Ukraine. The theater, the worst known atrocity of the siege, offers an unobstructed view into Russian motives and methods. It is difficult to imagine Russian forces didn’t know what they were doing when they destroyed the theater, where the temporary residents had painted the Russian word for “CHILDREN” so large on the ground outside that it could be seen in satellite imagery. An Amnesty International report calls it “a clear war crime.” The journalist James Verini began interviewing survivors in March, in a hospital near Mariupol, where they were being treated, and has continued to interview them since. What follows is an account based on their experiences, as well as those of others who witnessed the theater’s destruction. Click the link in our bio to read their stories. Photographs by @paolopellegrin.