Documenting the Siege of Mariupol

Between February and May 2022, the Russian military’s assault on the Ukrainian city of Mariupol left thousands of civilians dead or injured. Many were trapped for weeks without access to electricity, water, or medical care. The siege stands as one of the most devastating chapters of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

To document the destruction, Human Rights Watch produced a 215-page interactive report, a multimedia feature, and a 20-minute video. To render the scale of devastation legible — an estimated 93% of the city’s structures destroyed — HRW partnered with SITU Research, where I was part of the investigative team responsible for spatial analysis and visual reconstruction.

The investigation drew on more than 240 interviews with displaced residents, as well as satellite imagery and verified social media videos, collected in collaboration with HRW’s Digital Investigations Lab. Drawing on these sources, the team pursued a two-pronged approach: first, mapping citywide destruction through satellite analysis; second, reconstructing seven building-specific case studies to examine individual incidents.

OpenStreetMap building footprints were downloaded, verified, and corrected to reflect pre-siege conditions, then cross-referenced with post-siege satellite imagery to identify damaged or destroyed structures.

This layered methodology—integrating testimonial, spatial, and visual evidence—produced a comprehensive digital record of the siege. Ultimately, the report calls for Russian President Vladimir Putin and senior officials to be investigated and prosecuted for war crimes, and urges reparations for victims and their families.