Ukraine Protests as Russia Opens Mariupol and Berdyansk to Foreign Ships
Ukrainian officials are protesting the release of a new list of ports open for foreign vessels, on which Russia is including the Sea of Azov ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk. Both ports have been occupied by Russian forces since 2022.
Before the Russian invasion, Mariupol was the tenth largest city in Ukraine and the second largest in the eastern region. It was a vital seaport handling metals, coal, and grain, and when the war began, multiple foreign ships were trapped in the port. The facilities are said to include 22 deep-water berths.
Mariupol was the scene of heavy fighting in the first part of 2022 and a siege that ended up focusing on the seaport, an asset which Russia considers a vital prize in its occupation. The city and seaport finally fell into Russian hands in May 2022, and after many months, the foreign ships were able to escape. Russia was reported to be using it as a supply port, but commercial port operations, however, have remained mostly suspended, other than the accusations by Ukraine that Russia is stealing minerals and grains and shipping them from the port.
Berdiansk was an equally important seaport, and it fell into Russia's hands in the first month of the war. It is located just 50 road miles west of Mariupol and was under Russian control by March 2022. Reports said Russia had reopened the seaport and was using it to transport military supplies.
The listing of seaports released by the Russian Federation on August 22 includes both Berdiansk and Mariupol as open ports able to handle foreign ships.
“We consider such actions as another attempt by Russia to legalize its occupation and consolidate illegal control over Ukrainian territories,” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine said in a statement issued yesterday, August 25. It “strongly condemns” the Russian actions and says it considers the order “null and void.”
Ukraine is calling for Western sanctions on any company or ship that uses either port to support commercial activities. In the past, it has also taken action against ships using the occupied seaports of Crimea. The courts have permitted it to seize and auction ships that carried commercial cargoes from Crimean seaports, and it has jailed and fined crewmembers on those ships.
Ukrainian media is reporting that Russia has been using both seaports to export grains grown in the east in the occupied areas of Ukraine. They contend that almost 212,000 tonnes of grain were shipped from Zaporizhia Oblast in 2023 to places including Turkey, Libya, Syria, and the Houthis in Yemen. Over 300,000 tonnes of grain, they report, have been moved through Berdiansk, while as much as 40,000 to 60,000 tonnes a month of minerals are being exported through the Port of Mariupol.
The move comes as Russia seeks to further consolidate its gains and exert control in advance of any potential peace talks. Reports said President Vladimir Putin told Donald Trump during their meeting in Alaska that Russia would keep the occupied territories, including the Sea of Azov ports and the regions of Zaporizhzhia, as part of a peace deal. Trump has suggested there would be some “swapping” of land in the peace agreement.
Top image: Port of Berdyansk (Andrew Butko / CC BY SA 3.0)
