ROCKETS struck the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, killing 30 civilians, in the first attack since both sides took up dug-in positions last year.
Both sides are blaming each other for the shelling, although the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), said the rockets came from Russian rebel-held areas.
Mariupol (pop 461,810), on the north coast of the Sea of Azov at the mouth of the Kalmius River, is a major trading port for coal, steel and grain, notes IHS Maritime 360.
Trade at the port has been severely impacted by the fighting over the course of 2014, IHS Maritime & Trade AIS data shows that only 12 vessels called at the port in the last quarter, compared to 135 in the first quarter.
Ukrainian port authority figures for January to November of 2014 shows that Mariupol saw a 71 per cent drop in the export of coke, 39 per cent in coal, and 17 per cent in ferrous metals. But grain exports were up 18 per cent, mostly shipped out in the first half.
PORTS
02 February 2015 - 22:50
Russian-backed rebel rockets kill 30 Ukrainians in Sea of Azov port city
ROCKETS struck the Ukrainian port city of Mariupol, killing 30 civilians, in the first attack since both sides took up dug-in positions last year.
PORTS
02 February 2015 - 22:50
Russian-backed rebel rockets kill 30 Ukrainians in Sea of Azov port city
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