From the start of the war in Ukraine, the seaside city of Mariupol was a key target for Russia. The bombing of its maternity hospital, its theatre giving shelter to hundreds of families, and the siege of its steelworks at Azovstal became defining moments in the battle for south and the east of the country. But after 83 days, Mariupol fell and since then Russia has been both demolishing and rebuilding to create a new city – a model Russian city with little trace of its Ukrainian past. Sky’s Data & Forensics team has measured and mapped this destruction and has been monitoring its rebirth, which many former residents believe has a more sinister motive.
