Le Anime di Mariupol

The Ukrainian Cultural Association BORISTENE, together with Liberi Oltre le Illusioni and NAU (Network of Associations for Ukraine), with the support of UNITED24, the Lombardy Region, the Embassy of Ukraine in the Italian Republic, and the Consulate General of Ukraine in Milan, organized a commemorative flash mob in Piazza della Scala, Milan, dedicated to the victims of the Mariupol Drama Theatre.

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In the heart of the city, the large-scale civic remembrance action “The Souls of Mariupol” took place on the fourth anniversary of the bombing of the Drama Theatre on March 16, 2022.

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The President of BORISTENE, Svitlana Tereshchenko, emphasized that the event also served as a response to the opening in December 2025 of the “restored” theatre in Mariupol, built on the site of the tragedy:

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“On the ruins of a theatre where innocent civilians died, celebrations are now taking place as if nothing had happened. But memory remains. For us, to remember means to tell the truth to the world.”

Dozens of participants gathered holding placards with images of the destroyed theatre. Filmed also from above by a drone, the scene created a powerful living installation: participants arranged themselves to form the word “ДЕТИ” (“children”) — the same word that had been written in front of the theatre in 2022, where hundreds of civilians had taken shelter in the hope of being spared from the bombing.

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At the conclusion of the event, 200 white balloons were released into the sky as a symbol of the souls of the victims.

Photo by Lorenzo Ceva Valla

Video by Bogdan Semeiluk