Before the Ukraine war, the port of Mariupol was an important transport hub for the entire eastern Ukrainian Donbass region. After the export of goods came to a standstill, another freighter with 2,500 tons of sheet metal is on its way to Russia.
For the first time since the Russian army captured Mariupol, a freighter has left the port of the southern Ukrainian city. The ship left the port of Mariupol with 2,500 tons of sheet metal on board for Rostov-on-Don in southern Russia, said the leader of the pro-Russian separatists in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, Denis Puschilin. Before the Ukraine conflict, the port of Mariupol was the second most important port in Ukraine after Odessa. A lot of grain was also exported from there, but exports came to a standstill because of the fighting.
On April 21, after a siege that had lasted for weeks, Moscow announced the conquest of Mariupol. However, hundreds of Ukrainian fighters who had entrenched themselves in a huge steelworks site only surrendered four weeks later. The port was officially put back into operation last week. The Russian Ministry of Defense had previously announced the completion of mine clearance.
Pushilin stressed that the port of Mariupol is an important transport hub for the entire eastern Ukrainian Donbass region. "It is a very important port on the Sea of Azov and the only one where all kinds of goods can be transshipped even in winter." According to Russian news agencies, Pushilin announced that some of the ships from Mariupol will be transferred to the merchant fleet of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.
Meanwhile, the Donetsk separatist chief has already promised to rebuild the city. "We are here forever. Russia is here forever," said the 40-year-old at a performance in mid-April on the conquered eastern outskirts of the city in front of the remaining residents. In the almost completely destroyed city, in which almost 440,000 people lived before the war, everyday life should soon reign again. He did not explain how to do this.
