Viktoriia Dubovytska
Viktoriia, a native of Mariupol, had been residing in the city for years. By the moment of the Russo-Ukrainian war escalation on February 24, 2022, she found herself on maternity leave, caring for her two young children. Seeking refuge, she, along with her children, sought evacuation at the Drama Theater on 5 March 2022, only to find their plans thwarted by the Russian Federation Armed Forces. Because of this, Viktoriia’s family and hundreds of Mariupolites were forced to stay inside the Theater and continue taking shelter there, waiting for the green corridor.
On March 16, when the Russian Federation Armed Forces attacked the Theater building, Viktoriia and her children were staying in the second floor’s sound engineer’s room. That room remained almost undamaged. After the air attack, they managed to escape the city.
This is a short version of a four-hour interview with Viktoriia, which we conducted using a technique called situated testimony. In it, Viktoriia talks about the daily life and routines within the Drama Theater, the severe humanitarian conditions during the city’s siege, volunteering, and self-organization in the Theater. She also shares her memories of the attack’s consequences and thoughts on the connection between the memory of the tragedy and the investigation of this war crime.
The interview was created with the financial support of European Union, International Renaissance Foundation
This publication/interview was compiled with the support of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation within the framework «European Renaissance of Ukraine» project. Its content is the exclusive responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union and the International Renaissance Foundation.
