Russian Warships Arrive At Berdyansk Shores, Seize Ukrainian Patrol Vessels

As Russian troops continue to pound Mariupol, Kremlin has sent warships to Berdyansk, a city on the coast of the Sea of Azov. Berdyansk is one of the first cities to fall into Russian hands and is situated near the key port city of Mariupol.

Footages doing rounds on social media showed a Russian "Raptor" patrol boat landing at the Port of Berdyansk. This comes as Kremlin tightens its hold on the city of Mariupol, a key objective for Russian forces in Ukraine.

According to a report by The Drive, capturing Mariupol is essential for Russians to fully secure the coastline along the Sea of Azov. The city provides a landbridge between western Russia and the occupied Crimean Peninsula via breakaway areas of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region.

After their arrival, videos of Russian forces showing off captured Ukrainian vehicles began going viral on social media. The Ukrainian hardware includes Navy vessels, coast guard Korets and two Ukrainian Gyurza-M class patrol boats. Unverified reports said these vessels were abandoned by the Ukrainian troops before the city was captured by Russia.

According to The Drive, Russia's security services had previously seized a pair of these vessels and a Ukrainian Navy tug in the Sea of Azov in 2018 but returned them the following year.

Satellite imagery released recently shows the fleet of Russian naval vessels positioned off the western coast of Crimea largely remain in place. Though there were concerns that Russia might launch a new offensive along the Black Sea coastline to take the port city of Odesa, that seems to be on a stall.

Meanwhile, the city of Berdyansk seems to have been completely taken over by Russians. Reports claim that Russian soldiers patrol the streets of Berdyansk in cars and armored vehicles marked with the "Z" symbol.

"We feel like we’re living a nightmare, and we don’t know when this awful dream will end," one of the local councilors in the city was quoted by The Guardian. Though much of the civilians and local population seem to remain loyal to Ukraine, Russians are currently running the city.

Berdyansk has a population of a little over 100,000. Post the takeover, the city witnessed protests wherein thousands of unarmed Ukrainians took to the streets, shouting abuse at the Russian soldiers. Russians have also reportedly set up checkpoints on the outskirts of the city, preventing people from leaving.