Russia's Defense Ministry and Russian media are spreading fake reports that Azov fighters "could have held civilians hostage" at the Mariupol Drama Theater, but that Russian aircraft allegedly did not bomb the building and "did not see it as a target for destruction." Russian propagandists accuse Azov of this, which allegedly mined and blew up the theatre.

Russian aircraft launched an airstrike on the Mariupol Drama Theater, the city's largest shelter for civilians. Mariupol City Council said that a Russian plane deliberately dropped a bomb on the building, resulting in the entrance to the bomb shelter being destroyed. Information about the victims is being clarified.