russian aggressors seize two foreign ships in occupied Mariupol — Reuters
Photo: Illustrative
In the temporarily occupied Mariupol, the russians captured two foreign ships
Reuters reports.
As noted, the russian invaders have declared that the ships are now "state property."
The occupation authorities, through their "Ministry of Foreign Affairs" of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, informed two foreign shipping companies that their vessels were subject to "forcible appropriation of movable property with forced conversion into state property" without any compensation.
As reported, the aggressors seized the Smarta ship, which is owned by a Liberian company, as well as the Panamanian ship Blue Star.
Liberia registered Smarta Shipping, the owner of the Liberia-flagged Smarta bulk vessel, one of the two vessels taken, said it was informed of the seizure by email on June 30, calling it unlawful and "against all norms of international law."
"Such forced appropriation is in breach of fundamental human rights in so far as property rights are concerned," the Liberian company said in a statement.
A representative of Ukraine's foreign ministry stated that it was aware of the announcement by "the russian occupation authority in Donetsk to create a 'national' fleet comprised of ships they had stolen in Mariupol," adding they were checking on the vessels seized, Reuters writes.
Over 80 foreign-flagged ships remain stuck in Ukrainian ports, IMO data showed. Some of those terminals remain under russian control.
The situation in Mariupol
The city of Mariupol was blockaded by russian troops starting March 1, 2022, and was ruined.
The houses of at least 84,000 citizens were destroyed.
It is impossible to carry out an exact count of the dead.
Up to 22,000 residents died in Mariupol. Some of the residents were forcibly taken to the territory of the unrecognized "DPR" or to russia.
At the same time, the invaders plan to resume education in Mariupol schools: they have already brought in russian textbooks.
Education in schools should last all summer: the russians have canceled the summer vacation.
Mariupol mayor's adviser Petro Adriushchenko says the occupying authorities of the city began to issue pensions in rubles to local residents. In hryvnias, payments amount to 2.6 thousand hryvnias.
The Ukrainian defenders, who fought back until the last at the Azovstal plant, were taken to the temporarily occupied territories in May, and they are to be exchanged later.
At first, the aggressors dismantled the rubble and found dozens of dead. But later they decided to demolish the houses. The ruins are taken to the landfill with the bodies of dead Mariupol residents.
Read Rubryka's daily timeline of war: current news on Ukraine's defense against russia's aggression.
