Ukraine admits temporary loss of access to Sea of Azov

 Ukraine admits it no longer has access to the Sea of Azov in the southeastern part of the country due to a special Russian military operation.

Sputnik quoted the announcement of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine on March 18, saying that the Ukrainian forces had "temporarily" lost access to the Sea of ​​Azov due to the military operation of the Russian armed forces.

"The adversary has achieved partial success in the battlefield in Donetsk when they have temporarily deprived Ukraine of access to the Sea of ​​Azov," the statement read.

Since the first day of the military operation on February 24, Russia has been targeting the coastal cities of Ukraine. According to observers, Russia seems to want to cut off Ukraine's access to waters.

According to the Russian side, the fighting situation in Mariupol, a city bordering the Sea of ​​Azov is still fierce. Moscow has tightened the siege around this strategic city. If it gains control of Mariupol and its surrounding areas, Russia will gain control of the Sea of ​​Azov region. From the Sea of ​​Azov, Russia could open the way down to the Black Sea, leading to a scenario where it could control Ukraine's coastline.

In a statement on March 18, the head of the Russian defense control center Mikhail Mizintsev said that Moscow had informed Kiev that it was ready to let members of the Ukrainian military forces leave Mariupol through human corridors. religion. Russia explained that it wanted the members to leave to "save the city and the common people".

Mizintsev said that Russia is ready to give assurances to the aforementioned members that they will not be hurt if they drop their weapons and leave Mariupol through a humanitarian corridor.

In a phone call with French President Emanuel Macron, Russian President Vladimir Putin emphasized that Moscow's armed forces are doing everything possible to limit civilian casualties.

"In response to the concerns of Mr. Emmanuel Macron, the President of Russia emphasized once again that during the special military operation, the Russian Armed Forces are doing everything possible to save the lives of civilians, including the organization of humanitarian corridors for their safe evacuation," the Kremlin said.

Earlier, Russia insisted that it would only target Ukraine's military and not civilians in a special military operation.