Ukraine accuses Russia of stealing metal from Mariupol port

A dry-cargo ship sits in the port of Mariupol, Ukraine, on Friday.A dry-cargo ship sits in the port of Mariupol, Ukraine, on Friday. (AP)Ukrainian officials accused Russian forces of “looting” thousands of tons of metal from Mariupol via the first ship to use the southern city’s port since Moscow seized control of it last week.

Russian forces are exporting 3,000 tons of metal products to the southern Russian port city of Rostov-on-Don, said Ukraine’s human rights ombudsman, Lyudmila Denisova. In the process, they removed mines from part of the seaport and began to restore railroad connections in Mariupol and Volnovakha, about 40 miles north.The Russian state-owned news agency Tass appeared to confirm Denisova’s account. Citing an unnamed port administration official, the news outlet reported Saturday that a ship had entered the port and would be loaded with 2,700 tons of metal before leaving for Rostov-on-Don on Monday.The ship’s departure may signal Russia making good on its promise this month to ship goods through Mariupol — the largest trading port on the Sea of Azov and a de facto land bridge between Russia and its separatist allies in Crimea. Russia carried out a brutal assault on Mariupol for nearly three months, depriving it of basic supplies and reportedly killing more than 20,000 civilians, before taking full control of the city May 20.

Russian forces are making gains in eastern Ukraine, with more than 95 percent of the Luhansk region under their control, according to the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Severodonetsk, one of the largest Ukrainian-controlled cities in Luhansk, is facing a direct Russian assault. But Moscow’s troops could struggle in the urban setting, the institute said, citing their poor performance in cities earlier in the war.Severodonetsk: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Saturday the city remains under Ukrainian control. “It’s indescribably difficult there,” he said. Moscow’s troops tried to gain ground near a settlement on Severodonetsk’s outskirts but retreated after suffering losses, the Ukrainian military said.Lyman: Russian-backed separatist forces said they have full control of Lyman, a strategically important city near a major highway in Luhansk, while the British Defense Ministry confirmed that Russian forces have probably captured most of the city. Ukrainian defense authorities said they were fighting for control in the northwestern and southeastern parts of the city.Mykolaiv: One person was killed and seven were injured Saturday in Russian shelling near a kindergarten in a residential area, Zelensky said. He said two of the injured were in “grave condition.”Kharkiv: As life inside bombed-out Kharkiv gradually returns to normal, the ISW said fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces in the city’s northeast is static, with neither side launching major attacks. Ukraine so far has stopped Russian troops from seizing the city.Mariupol: A Ukrainian official accused Russia of “looting” metal from this southeastern Ukrainian city via the first ship to use its port since Russian forces seized control. The Russian navy had blockaded this port while Moscow’s forces battered Mariupol for nearly three months.