RUSSIA has been accused of dancing on the bodies of the dead for reopening a theatre it bombed in Ukraine.
Amnesty International says 12 people died when the Mariupol Drama Theatre was hit in 2022, part of a three-month siege of the now Russian-occupied city.
It was fully restored and an opening gala was denounced as Russia “dancing on bones”.
TV footage from the bizarre opening gala showed people dancing to a DJ beneath a 2.5 tonne crystal chandelier hanging in the auditorium.
“Mariupol Drama Theatre 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 theatre’s “historic image” has been restored with its sculptured facade and “modern equipment of the highest level”, he added in comments on Telegram.
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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”.
Russian forces rolled into Mariupol, a bustling Black Sea coast city, in the first months of its assault in 2022.
It imposed a brutal, nearly three month siege that resulted in thousands of deaths.
In September 2022, Russia announced the annexation of four Ukrainian regions.
These included Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia — even though it does not fully control the areas.