In the video, military vehicles loaded with ballistic missiles appear in the Russian Taganrog Prostov region on the shore of the Azov Sea.
The Sea of Azov holds great strategic importance in the war between Russia and Ukraine, as the two countries overlook it, in addition to connecting Russia to the Ukrainian Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014.
Russia uses the small sea associated with the Black Sea in its military operations, the latest of which is the siege of the city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov and its port.
In what could be a turning point in the war, the strategic port of Mariupol in eastern Ukraine is subjected to a siege and violent attacks by the Russian army, according to the city’s president, Vadim Boychenko, who called for the establishment of a humanitarian corridor.
At about midnight local time, Boychenko said in a message on the “Telegram” account of the city of about 450,000 people on the Sea of Azov: “We are currently looking for solutions to humanitarian problems and all possible ways to get Mariupol out of the siege.”
He added that the priority is to reach a “cease-fire so that we can restore critical infrastructure and establish a humanitarian corridor to bring food and medicine into the city.”
The control of Mariupol would constitute an important turning point in the framework of the Russian attack on Ukraine, as this would allow the establishment of a link between the Russian forces coming from the Russian-annexed Crimea, and the separatist and Russian forces in the Donbass.
On Thursday, the mayor of the city of Mariupol accused the Russian forces and forces loyal to them of seeking to besiege the city, prevent evacuations and supply the coastal city.