Russia is discussing plans to revive international ferry routes across the Sea of Azov and the Black Sea, including from the Russian-occupied Ukrainian city of Mariupol to the Georgian city of Batumi, the state-run media outlet RIA Novosti has reported, citing government documents.
‘It is possible to resume cruises through the Sea of Azov to foreign countries. Previously, there was a cruise route from Mariupol to Batumi. Provided that a passenger pier is restored or built, the route could be reinstated’, the documents cited by RIA Novosti read.
There was no timeline for the alleged reopening of the route nor confirmation from the Georgian side that Tbilisi would allow it to go forward.
In response to the reporting, Ukraine’s foreign intelligence service wrote on Sunday that Russia had ‘intensified its use of the temporarily occupied Mariupol seaport, presenting it as “restoration”. In reality, this is an illegal appropriation of Ukrainian infrastructure and its integration into the logistics system of the aggressor state’.
OC Media has reached out to Ukraine’s Embassy in Georgia, as well as Georgia’s Foreign Ministry, for comment on RIA Novosti’s reporting, but there has yet to be a response from either organisation.
Mariupol was the scene of some of the heaviest fighting at the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022. During the almost three-month battle, tens of thousands of civilians were killed, with some estimates reaching as high as 80,000.
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