The first vessel to leave Mariupol headed to Russia left the port under Moscow’s watch

A commercial vessel carrying metal left the Ukrainian port of Mariupol, which is under Russian control, and headed to Rostov-Don, said the pro-Moscow separatist leader Denys Pushilin on May 31.

“Today, 2,500 tonnes of rolled sheet coils left the port of Mariupol,” the leader of the pro-Russian separatists in the Donetsk region wrote on Telegram.

“This transport hub is vital for Donbas,” said Pushilin. “It is a very important port on the Sea of Azov and the only one where it is possible to load all kinds of goods, including during winter,” he explained.

The pro-Russian leader said that part of the ships in the port of Mariupol will become part of the commercial fleet of the self-proclaimed Republic of Donetsk (DNR).

Located on the Sea of Azov, which – in turn – connects with the Black Sea, the port of Mariupol was, before the Russian military offensive, the second most important civilian port in Ukraine, after Odesa.

The infrastructure allowed the large-scale export of Ukrainian cereals, now blocked in the country due to the conflict that threatens to provoke a world food crisis.

The Kremlin announced the conquest of Mariupol on April 21, after nearly two months of fighting that left much of the city destroyed. But the last Ukrainian defenders on the ground, entrenched at the Azovstal steel mill, surrendered just a month after the announcement.

Source: UOL

To read the full original article, please go to:

https://noticias.uol.com.br/ultimas-noticias/afp/2022/05/31/primeiro-navio-comercial-sai-do-porto-ucraniano-de-mariupol-para-a-russia.htm

Sharing is caring!