Kyiv: Cargo traffic in the ports of Azov Sea decreased by half due to Russia's actions
The Ukrainian Minister of Infrastructure, Volodymyr Omelyan, stated on his Facebook page that cargo traffic in the ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol has more than halved due to Russia’s actions. According to him, the ports are forced to move to a four-day work week and reduce staff.
“As we expected, Moscow manually regulates the access to the Ukrainian seaports of the Azov Sea by vessels, based on the ancient principle of the Kremlin: “I want to/I don’t want to”… As a result of such an approach, two Ukrainian ports lost more than half of the cargo traffic, were forced to move to a 4-day work week and cut employees,” wrote the minister.
As of the morning of December 5th, the Kerch-Yenikalsky Strait which is controlled by Russia was opened, however, during the day there was no movement of ships to the ports of Berdyansk and Mariupol.
Omelyan said that the Ministry of Infrastructure is working with allies "to return the occupied territories, free captured sailors and ships, restore international law and end the economic blockade of the Azov region of Ukraine".