Russians captured two civilian ships in Mariupol
The captured sailors were taken to occupied Donetsk.
Russian occupiers took boat hostage crew members of the Dominican-flagged Azburg and the Jamaican-flagged Lady Augusta near the Mariupol commercial seaport, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Lyudmyla Denisova, said.
According to the contract of affreightment, the Azburg reached in Mariupol on the 22nd of February, 2022 from Burgas, Bulgaria, to load metal products.
After artillery and rocket systems shelling of the port area by the Russian Federation, cargo operations have been suspended. On the 3rd of April, as the result of two mortar shells hitting the navigation bridge and the vessel's glass flew out and the navigation equipment was partially damaged. The next day a shell hit was added to the engine room and exploded inside, starting a fire in the engine room and injuring the engine engineer.
A Ukrainian State Border Guard Service boat responded to the distress signal and helped the crew to evacuate to the Lady Augusta. The injured motorist was taken by the border guards to hospital and given medical treatment.
On the 10th of April, the crew members of Azburg and Lady Augusta were taken prisoner, according to Denisova. The first vessel has 12 seafarers who are Ukrainian nationals. The second vessel's crew members are Syrian nationals and their number is unknown. The sailors were taken to occupied Donetsk.
Earlier, Lyudmyla Denysova said that the occupants in Kherson set up an equivalent of the Donetsk "Isolation" for torturing Ukrainians.
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