Ukraine Loses Access to Sea of Azov

By Staff, Agencies

Ukraine's defense confessed late Friday that it had lost access to the Sea of Azov as Russian forces were tightening their grip around the Sea's major port of Mariupol.

“The ‘occupiers’ have partially succeeded in the Donetsk operational district, temporarily depriving Ukraine of access to the Sea of Azov," Ukraine's defense ministry said in a statement.

The ministry did not specify whether Ukraine's forces have regained access to the Sea.

On Friday, Russia said its forces were "tightening the noose" around Mariupol, a target since the start of the war due to its location.

The city lies on the route between Crimea to the west and the Donetsk region to the east.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that over 9,000 people were able to leave Mariupol in the past day. In total, over 180,000 people were able to flee to safety through humanitarian corridors.

Zelensky said that Russians are preventing supplies from reaching cities in the center and southeast of Ukraine.

“This is a totally deliberate tactic,” Zelensky claimed in his nighttime video address to the nation.