Today, Ukraine and the entire civilized world honor the memory of the victims of the tragedy at the Mariupol Drama Theater, which has become one of the most terrible symbols of war crimes against humanity in modern history.

What was supposed to be a center of art and spiritual inspiration, in March 2022, turned into the only refuge for thousands of civilians seeking salvation from merciless shelling.

Even the large white letters with the inscription "CHILDREN" displayed on the square in front of the building as a plea for mercy did not stop the aggressor, instead becoming a silent testimony to his unspeakable cruelty.

The cynical airstrike took the lives of hundreds of innocent people — women, children, and the elderly, whose dreams and future remained forever under the rubble of the building that became their common grave.

This pain is inextricably linked to the tragic fate of the Luhansk Regional Academic Ukrainian Music and Drama Theater in Seversko-Donetsk, which was a true symbol of invincibility, finding its second home after the occupation of Luhansk in 2014.

Reborn from the ashes, it once again became a target for enemy artillery in June 2022, when targeted shelling turned the modern cultural center into charred ruins.

The destruction of these theaters was not an accident, but a deliberate act of ethnocide aimed at eradicating Ukrainian identity and culture.

Today, these wounds in the heart of our state do not heal, remaining an eternal reminder of the inhuman nature of the aggressor, who purposefully destroyed the civilian population and national heritage.

We cherish the memory of every soul that perished in those terrible moments, and we continue to fight for every war criminal to be held accountable for their actions before an international tribunal. The light of memory of the dead will forever live in our thoughts as a symbol of the indomitability of the Ukrainian spirit and our inescapable demand for justice.