Following the Russian siege of Mariupol in southeastern Ukraine, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense announced that it has "temporarily" lost access to the Sea of Azov after Russian forces tightened their grip on the main port of Mariupol by the sea. In a late statement on Friday night, it added that what it described as "the occupiers in the Donetsk operational area have succeeded in temporarily depriving the country of access to the Sea of Azov." However, it did not specify later whether Ukrainian forces had regained access to the sea, as reported by Reuters.
This announcement came after the Russian Ministry of Defense stated yesterday that its allied separatists had entered the center of Mariupol, the besieged strategic Ukrainian port in the southeast of the country. Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said at the time that "units of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic, supported by Russian forces, have tightened their siege and are fighting nationalists in the center of the city." Meanwhile, Kyiv accused the Russians of destroying 90% of the city and holding the trapped residents as hostages, a claim Moscow later denied entirely.
Mariupol has been a key strategic objective for Moscow since the military operation began, as controlling it allows for linking Russian forces in Crimea with the Donbas region and prevents Ukrainians from accessing the Sea of Azov. It lies on the route between Crimea, which Russia annexed in 2014 to its territory in the west, and the Donetsk region in the east, which is partly controlled by Russian-backed separatists. The city has garnered special international and media attention in the Ukrainian-Russian conflict, especially after Kyiv accused the Russians of besieging it and cutting off supplies to the civilians trapped there.
These battlefield developments come as the military operation enters its fourth week, with neither side appearing willing to retreat or make concessions that could lead to a political solution to end the conflict, despite ongoing discussions between the two sides in their fourth round of talks.
