Thread by @Sophia_MJones

Proud to publish our Mariupol project today, a massive research endeavor between HRW colleagues, @situ_research & @truth_hounds investigating Russia's assault on & devastation of Mariupol. I hope it helps lead to accountability. 1/12 hrw.org/feature/russia…

Thousands of Mariupol residents–men, women, children–were killed in the onslaught & ensuing violence. In spring of 2023, months into HRW’s research on Mariupol, I set out on a mission with colleagues to find what happened to one family, in particular: the Antipenko family. 2/12

We scoured the internet for clues & contacted survivors trying to find traces of the young family–Arina, Khrystyna & Ivan–who had last been seen sheltering in the basement of a residential building on Mytropolytska Street, a tree-lined street in downtown Mariupol. 3/12

There, in the days leading up to March 11, 2022, three-year-old Arina, called “Arishulka” by her grandma, had danced & played in the darkness. “Look Dyma, I am a princess,” she told her neighbor, urging him to join in her make believe. (Video courtesy of her grandma) 4/12

On March 11, 2022, around 3 pm, residents heard an aircraft over Mytropolytska 98. Then, an explosion. An air-dropped bomb tore through the building, collapsing 5 floors. It's a tactic Russia has used elsewhere, such as in Izium: . (Model by SITU/HRW) 5/12 tinyurl.com/y2nu2d8p

In our area of research in Mariupol, ~14 sq km around Myru Avenue, the city's central artery, we found 4,884 damaged/destroyed buildings, including 93% of high-rise residential buildings–like Mytropolytska 98, where Arina & her family sought shelter. 6/12 hrw.org/feature/russia…

Following the attack on Mytropolytska 98, survivors trapped inside called for help, their moans heard by neighbors. Fire engulfed part of the building, but the fire brigade, faced with shelling, was forced to turn around. One woman leapt to her death from the fifth floor. 7/12

Survivors found bodies blackened by fire in the basement. One man found Khrystyna Antipenko's broken phone. On it were undelivered messages from before the attack, on March 6, to her mom, who we'll call Stefaniia: “Mommy, I’m alive. Everything is fine with me. Love you.” 8/12

Stefaniia traveled to Mariupol searching for her family. For months, she combed through Mytropolytska 98 rubble, opened body bags at the morgue, demanded answers from occupation authorities. “I went to different basements & shouted the names of my children." She prayed. 9/12

Six months after the attack, Stefaniia found her 3-year-old granddaughter Arina's body. The little girl had been assigned a number in a morgue database-1734-and buried. Stefaniia has not found the bodies of her daughter, Khrystyna, or Ivan. She will never stop looking. 10/12

Stefaniia was 1 of 240 ppl we interviewed. We geolocated/verified 850 photos/videos; analyzed sat imagery of graves; conducted a remote damage assessment; 3D modeled 7 key damaged buildings; and investigated which Russian forces/commanders may be responsible for war crimes. 11/12

When I first spoke with Stefaniia by phone in April, she asked me to tell the world her story. Today, we’re doing just that. For Khrystyna. For Ivan. For little Arina, forever 3-years-old. Please read and share: (Video courtesy of Arina's grandma) 12/12 hrw.org/feature/russia…