Russian authorities are considering reviving international cruises through the Azov Sea – which has been occupied since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine – including a route between Mariupol and Georgia’s Black Sea city of Batumi, RIA Novosti reports, citing government documents.
“It is possible to resume cruises through the Sea of Azov to foreign countries. Previously, there was a cruise route from Mariupol to Batumi. Provided that a passenger pier is restored or built, the route could be reinstated,” the document says, according to RIA Novosti’s January 17 report, which named the vessel Mustai Karim as the proposed option for such voyages.
While Tbilisi has yet to comment on the report, Ukraine’s Foreign Intelligence Service stated: “In 2025, Russia intensified the use of the temporarily occupied Mariupol seaport, presenting this as ‘restoration’. In reality, this is the illegal appropriation of Ukrainian infrastructure and its integration into the logistics system of the aggressor state.”
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