Russia moves armored tanks to a port near Mariupol

The landing ship “Orsk” of the Black Sea Fleet of the Russian Navy has landed on the Ukrainian port of Berdyanskan area controlled by the Russian Army and located less than 90 kilometers from Mariupol. Inside it carries a load of war equipment to support the invasion of Ukraine, this being the first Russian warship to dock in this port.

This move comes hours after Ukraine has rejected Russia’s ‘ultimatum’ for the Ukrainian army to lay down its arms and leave Mariupol. The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense has called this order “delirium”.

This has been confirmed by the Russian Navy in the video broadcast by the Russian channel Zvezda, belonging to the Ministry of Defense: “The landing ship of the Black Sea Fleet arrived and download now armored transport to strengthen our military group”, what the Kremlin insists on calling a “special operation” in Ukraine.

From the Russian military department they describe the arrival of the landing ship at the port of Berdyansk as a “important event that opens logistical possibilities to the Black Sea Fleetwhich will be able to fully use the port’s infrastructure”, adds the video, in which the unloading of an armored transport with a “Z” is observed on the side, one of the identifiers of the Russian conflict in Ukraine.

Although no figures have been given for the number of armored vehicles, the Russian Navy highlights the importance of using the port as a comor route for the supply of the troops. Ships like “Orsk”, belonging to the landing ship brigade of the Russian naval base on the Crimean peninsula, illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, can carry up to 20 tanks or 40 armored personnel carriers.

In the context of the conflict, the Russian forces have managed gain control of almost the entire coastline of the Sea of ​​Azov, with the exception of the port of Mariupol, who does not give up. According to Zvezda, at least 10 landing ships such as the “Orsk” are involved in the “special military operation”.