Donetsk, Apr 8 - DAN. Six foreign ships are blocked by Ukrainian militants in the port of Mariupol, the DPR Minister of Foreign Affairs Natalia Nikonorova said.
“According to the information available to us, there are six foreign vessels with foreign citizens in the crews in the waters of the Mariupol port,” Nikonorova said.
“These ships are blocked by the Ukrainian forces; they are unable to leave the Mariupol port because of the threat of being targeted with weapons or probably because the port’s water area has been mined even before the start of the special operation.”
The minister said that the crews of the vessels include citizens of Bulgaria, the Syrian Arab Republic, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Liberia and Egypt. The Ukrainian side has ignored numerous requests of the DPR authorities to evacuate foreign ships and citizens. At the moment, Donetsk is not able to verify whether the crews of the ships have gone ashore or remain on the ships.
Nikonorova stressed that the fire on the Turkish Azburg vessel, which is located in the port of Mariupol, most likely occurred as a result of shelling by Ukrainian militants.
"All these actions are crimes, direct violations of the 1988 Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against the Safety of Maritime Navigation, the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, a violation of human rights, stipulated in all international acts," the head of the Foreign Ministry said.
She addressed the international community and the governments of the above-mentioned states calling on them to execute pressure on Kiev and to evacuate the crews. The DPR does not intend to impede these efforts. *ot