Ukraine 'temporarily' loses access to Sea of Azov - Defence Ministry

Ships are seen near the Azov Sea port of Mariupol, Ukraine December 2, 2018.

Ukraine's defence ministry said late on Friday it lost access to the Sea of Azov "temporarily" as invading Russian forces were tightening their grip around the Sea's major port of Mariupol.

"The occupiers have partially succeeded in the Donetsk operational district, temporarily depriving Ukraine of access to the Sea of Azov," Ukraine's defence ministry said in a statement.

The ministry did not specify in its statement whether Ukraine's forces have regained access to the Sea.

Russia said on Friday its forces were "tightening the noose" around Mariupol, where an estimated 80% of the city's homes had been damaged more some 1,000 people may still be trapped in makeshift bomb shelters beneath a destroyed theatre.

Mariupol, with its strategic location on the coast of the Sea of Azov, has been a target since the start of the war on Feb. 24 when Russian President Vladimir Putin launched what he called a "special military operation".

The city lies on the route between the Russian-annexed peninsula of Crimea to the west, and the Donetsk region to the east, which is partially controlled by pro-Russian separatists.

Russia claimed as early as March 1 that its forces had cut off the Ukrainian military from the Sea of Azov.

Source: Reuters / Reporting by Lidia Kelly; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell