Russia intensified its use of occupied Mariupol port in 2025 – Ukraine's intelligence
Russia intensified its use of the temporarily occupied Mariupol seaport in 2025, integrating illegally appropriated Ukrainian infrastructure into its logistics system.
Source: Foreign Intelligence Service of Ukraine (FISU)
Quote: "In 2025, Russia intensified its use of the temporarily occupied Mariupol seaport, presenting it as 'restoration'."
Details: The Foreign Intelligence Service notes that the Russians are replacing Ukrainian standards with Russian ones, erasing Ukrainian jurisdiction. The decision to open the port to foreign vessels is an attempt to create the illusion of "legality" and circumvent sanctions.
Russia's plans include deepening the channel and expanding transshipment, which confirms the intention to turn Mariupol into a key logistics hub for the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.
Meanwhile, the social situation is rapidly deteriorating. School meals have been suspended in the city due to a lack of funding from the occupying authorities, the intelligence service reports.
Quote: "Residents have been waiting for years for the promised housing: instead of compensation for destroyed houses, expensive high-rise buildings with mortgages are being built, which are unaffordable to Mariupol residents. At the same time, the seizure of 'ownerless' housing has been simplified by law – apartments are being confiscated en masse from owners who have died, left, or lost their documents."
More details: The FISU reports that the city is being used as a military training ground for Russian personnel. Mariupol for Russia is "not a city or a community, but a trophy and expendable material".
Background:
- Earlier, it was reported that Russia had added the cities of Mariupol and Berdiansk to the list of ports open to foreign vessels.
- Russian authorities have turned stolen Ukrainian grain into a global business, and it is now being purchased by 70 countries around the world, particularly Egypt, Türkiye and Iran.
- Russia has restarted grain shipments to Syria, including grain stolen from Ukraine.
- It was reported in August that the Kremlin planned to increase the share of grain looted from Ukraine's occupied regions in its overall harvest, as Russia's own crop was expected to be smaller due to drought, sanctions and limited access to machinery. Grain sales in June fell by 34.5%.
- The Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine are playing an increasingly significant role in Russia's agricultural sector.
- Earlier, the Security Service of Ukraine detained a foreign cargo ship in the port of Odesa that was part of Russia's shadow fleet and was illegally transporting Ukrainian agricultural products from temporarily occupied Crimea.
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