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Drones strike Mariupol seaport, causing blackout at electrical substations and repair facilities
Ukraine's rebuilt Azov unit targeted electrical substations, repair facilities and a ship at the occupied port, causing a blackout. The operation occurred four years after the regiment surrendered the city to Russian forces in May 2022.
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Drones from First Corps Azov struck electrical substations, repair facilities and a sanctioned ship at Mariupol's seaport last week, according to Kyiv’s military. The attack plunged the port into a blackout and occurred just a few miles from the Azovstal Iron and Steel Works. Reuters confirmed the location of parts of a video of the strike posted by the corps.
The operation was carried out jointly with Ukraine’s drone forces and the SBU security service. Col. Arsen Dmytryk, the unit’s 32-year-old chief of staff, said dozens more such operations would follow to demonstrate the corps’ capabilities.
He added that driving Russian forces from Mariupol, which lies 120 km behind the front lines, is a long game. “If it takes 20 years, we will spend 20 years planning, waiting, preparing,” Dmytryk said. “But when the time comes, we must be ready.
I believe we will return it. ” The 2022 surrender in Mariupol left hundreds of Azov fighters killed or captured. The regiment has since been rebuilt into a larger force and has conducted strikes on Russian logistics in occupied Donetsk region.
An April 16 video posted by the corps shows drones striking army vehicles near Donetsk. A May 8 video shows drone footage over central Mariupol and the damaged Azovstal plant. Russia’s defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
