Ship Attempted to Break Through Russian Naval Blockade of Mariupol to Rescue Azov Commanders

"Russian forces and Donetsk People's Militia units encircled the Azov Sea coast city of
Mariupol in early March, trapping thousands of Ukrainian troops, neo-Nazi Azov Regiment fighters and foreign mercenaries in the strategic port hub. In recent days, Ukrainian forces have made several attempts to evacuate commanders from the city's ruins.

The Apache, a dry cargo ship sailing under the Maltese flag, abruptly changed course while en route through the Azov Sea and attempted to break through the naval blockade of Mariupol enforced by ships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet and border patrol.

 "On the evening of 8 April, the regime in Kiev made a new unsuccessful attempt to evacuate the neo-Nazi fighters' leaders [trapped in Mariupol] by sea. In the evening darkness the Ukrainian dry cargo vessel Apache, assigned to the Maltese port of Valletta and flying the Maltese flag, followed a caravan of ships from Taganrog Bay to the Kerch Strait," Konashenkov said in a briefing." Sputnik