The Sea of Azov is an inland shelf sea in Eastern Europe connected to the Black Sea by the narrow Strait of Kerch, and is sometimes regarded as a northern extension of the Black Sea. The sea is bounded by Russia on the east, and by Ukraine on the northwest and southwest, currently under Russian occupation. It is an important access route for Central Asia, from the Caspian Sea via the Volga–Don Canal.
Zaporizhzhia Oblast, commonly referred to as Zaporizhzhia (Запоріжжя), is an oblast (region) in south-east Ukraine. Its administrative centre is Zaporizhzhia. The oblast covers an area of 27,183 square kilometres (10,495 sq mi), and has a population of 1,638,462.
Berdiansk, also spelled Berdyansk is a port city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, south-eastern Ukraine. It is on the northern coast of the Sea of Azov, which is connected to the Black Sea. It serves as the administrative center of Berdiansk Raion. The city is named after the Berda River's Berdiansk Spit, at the foot of which it is located. Its population is 106,311.
The Port of Mariupol or Mariupol Sea Port is located in Mariupol, Ukraine in the Taganrog Bay, Sea of Azov. The port is governed by the port authority managed by Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority. As of June 2022, it is occupied by Russian armed forces.
Berdiansk Raion, also spelled Berdyansk Raion is one of the five raions (districts) of Zaporizhzhia Oblast in southern Ukraine. The administrative center of the region is Berdiansk. The raion has access to the northern coast of the Sea of Azov. The population is 176,046.
Caesar Kunikov (BDK-64) is a Project 775 large landing ship of the Russian Navy. She is named after Caesar Lvovich Kunikov, the commanding officer of a landing party that captured the beach-head of Malaya Zemlya, a Hero of the Soviet Union.
The Soviet designation Project 1171 (Tapir-class) landing ship is a class of Soviet/Russian general purpose, beachable amphibious warfare ships.
Berdiansk Airport is an airport in Berdiansk, Ukraine. The airport is located 1.5 km (0.9 mi) north of the city.
Donbas was a Project 304 former Soviet repair ship that was converted to a command ship of the Ukrainian Navy. She was built on Szczecin Shipyard in Poland in 1969 for the Soviet Navy and entitled PM-9. "PM" is a Russian abbreviation for a repair ship, and literally means a floating repair shop. Donbas was destroyed during the Siege of Mariupol as a part of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The Project 58155 Gyurza-M class is a series of small armored gunboats in service with the Ukrainian Navy. The first two vessels were laid down at the Kuznia na Rybalskomu shipbuilding plant in October 2012. Originally it was planned to build nine such vessels by 2017. In December 2013 the Ministry of Defence withdrew its contract. The class is named after the Levant viper, Гюрза, Hiurza, in Ukrainian.
Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority (USPA) (Ukrainian: Адміністрація морських портів України (АМПУ)) is a state company created in 2013 after the adoption of the law "On Sea Ports of Ukraine" and united all ports of Ukraine under one administration. Total throughput of 13 seaports in 2019 exceeded 160 million tons.
Nikolay Stepanovich Kobozev was one of the founders of Berdiansk, and its first mayor. He was a merchant of the 1st Guild, a fishing magnate, and a hereditary honorary citizen of Berdiansk since 1851.
Azov Naval Base was the new naval base of the Armed Forces of Ukraine located in Berdiansk along the northern coast of the Azov Sea. The city and the base were captured by Russian forces on 27 February 2022 during the Southern Ukraine campaign, part of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
The southern Ukraine campaign is an ongoing theatre of operation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022. From their base in Russian-occupied Crimea, the Russian Armed Forces attacked Kherson Oblast, Mykolaiv Oblast, and Zaporizhzhia Oblast in southern Ukraine, battling the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
Berdiansk is a port city in the eponymous municipality on the Sea of Azov in the eponymous raion of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Ukraine.
The Berdiansk port attack was a strike carried out by Ukrainian forces against Russian Navy ships moored in the Port of Berdiansk on 24 March 2022, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The Alligator-class landing ship Saratov was sunk, and one of the two Ropucha-class landing ships took damage but was able to leave the port.
Henichesk Seaport is a sea trade port, that is affiliated with the Port of Berdiansk, on the shores of the Henichesk Strait, which connects the Utlyuk estuary and the Syvash Bay of the Sea of Azov, in the city of Henichesk, Kherson Oblast. Henichesk Seaport is managed by the Administration of Berdiansk Sea Commercial Port - a branch of the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority under the leadership of the Ministry of Infrastructure (Ukraine).
During the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia occupied vast portions of the territory of Ukraine, having already occupied parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts as well as the entire Autonomous Republic of Crimea since the beginning of the Russia-Ukraine war in 2014. Partisan groups began to be organized in mid-2022. These groups have been involved in intelligence-gathering, sabotage, and assassinations. Much of their activity has taken place in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions.
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