Mariupol official says first cargo ship to depart port in coming days

A Russian-backed official in the occupied Ukrainian port of Mariupol said on Wednesday that the first ship to leave since pro-Russian forces completed their capture of the city would leave in the next few days, the TASS news agency reported.

The official said the ship would take around 3,000 tonnes of metals to Rostov-on-Don in Russia, TASS said.

Earlier, Russia's defence ministry said that Mariupol's port, a shallow-water harbour on the Azov Sea, was "operating normally".

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