By: Cap Amr Mokhtar

Port of Mariupol or Mariupol Sea Port (Ukrainian: Маріупольський морський порт) is the ” Lung ” of Ukraine on the Sea of Azov where it is located in Mariupol, Ukraine on the north-western coast of the Taganrog Bay of the Azov sea (Mariupol, Donetsk region). Port is governed by the port authority managed by Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority. I

Importance of Mariupol

Mariupol is also home to the largest trading port in the Azov Sea from which Ukraine exports grain, iron and steel, and heavy machinery. In 2021, the main destinations for Ukrainian exports from Mariupol port were European and Middle Eastern countries such as Egypt Italy, Lebanon, and Turkey

The Siege of Mariupol is an ongoing military engagement between Russia and Ukraine which began on 24 February 2022, during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, as part of the Eastern Ukraine offensive.

Securing a land corridor between Crimea and Donbas

Geographically, the city of Mariupol occupies only a tiny area on the map but it now stands obstinately in the way of Russian forces who have burst out of the Crimean peninsula.

They are pushing north-east to try to link Strangling Ukraine’s economy
Mariupol has long been a strategically important port on the Sea of Azov, part of the Black Sea.

With its deep berths, it is the biggest port in the Azov Sea region and home to major iron and steelworks. In normal times, Mariupol is a key export hub for Ukraine’s steel, coal, and corn going to customers in the Middle East and beyond.

For eight years now, since Moscow’s illegal annexation of Crimea in 2014, the city has been sandwiched uncomfortably between Russian forces on that peninsula and the pro-Kremlin separatists in the breakaway self-declared republics of Donetsk and Luhansk.

Losing Mariupol would be a major blow to what is left of Ukraine’s economy up with their comrades and Ukrainian-separatist allies in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine.

Strangling Ukraine‘s economy

Mariupol has long been a strategically important port on the Sea of Azov, part of the Black Sea.

“When the Russians feel they have successfully concluded that battle, they will have completed a land bridge from Russia to Crimea and they will see this as a major strategic success.”

If Mariupol was seized, Russia would also end up with full control of more than 80% of Ukraine’s Black Sea coastline – cutting off its maritime trade and further isolating it from the world.