Two sea ports at Mariupol and Berdyansk in the Sea of Azov have effectively been blocked by Russia, with ships unable to arrive or depart, Ukraine’s infrastructure minister, Volodymyr Omelyan, said on Thursday.
According to operational information, 18 ships are waiting to enter the Sea of Azov: 4 heading for the Berdyansk port and 14 for the Mariupol port. There is also a queue waiting to leave the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea: three ships are unable to depart from the port of Berdyansk, and six ships from the port of Mariupol. Another 8 ships are standing at berths in the port. A total of 35 ships are being blocked.
“The goal is simple – by placing a blockade on Ukrainian ports on the Azov Sea, Russia hopes to drive Ukraine out of our own territory – territory that is ours in accordance with all relevant international laws”, Volodymyr Omelyan said on his Facebook page.
Recall that on November 25, Russian border guards in the Kerch Strait opened fire on three Ukrainian ships and captured them. After that, martial law was declared in Ukraine, which is in effect in the regions located along the Russian border, on the Transnistrian segments of the Moldovan border, and also on the coast of the Black and Azov seas.
