Russia's occupation of the Sea of Azov has effectively severed Ukraine's access to a vital maritime hub, yet the territorial gain provides little industrial benefit to Moscow due to the widespread destruction of key infrastructure.
Following the 2022 invasion, Russian forces seized the entire Ukrainian coastline to establish a 'land bridge' to Crimea. Moscow now claims the Sea of Azov as its 'domestic sea,' a move formalized by a decree from President Vladimir Putin in 2023.
However, the economic windfall for Russia remains negligible. Kyiv-based analyst Aleksey Kushch told Al Jazeera that Russia's industrial gains in the region equal 'almost zero.'
'The steel plants of Mariupol are unrestorable ruins,' Kushch said, noting that manufacturing processes requiring iron ore from central Ukraine are unlikely to recover.
Economic devastation
The loss of the coastline has crippled Ukraine's broader economy. Maryna Horbashevska, head of the management and finance department at Mariupol State University, said the sea served as a strategic hub for logistics and exports.
Ukraine has already lost approximately 10 to 12 percent of its GDP. Horbashevska noted this figure could be significantly higher given the destruction of the Mariupol metallurgical plants.
A 2022 survey by Canadian risk firm SecDev estimated Ukraine's total losses in occupied areas at $12.4 trillion. The figure includes two-fifths of Ukraine's metals and a third of its rare earth minerals.
For many residents, the loss is personal. Mariya Bubnova, a businesswoman from Mariupol now living in the Netherlands, described fleeing the city with nothing during the 2022 siege.
'We didn’t take a thing, nothing, just walked out,' Bubnova said. Her family's business, which produced frozen soups, was destroyed alongside the city's industrial backbone.
While Moscow is investing in new roads and railroads to integrate the region, analysts suggest these projects serve propaganda and state-driven industrial demand rather than genuine economic growth.
Even the environmental state of the sea has declined. The destruction of sewage systems and heavy shelling has left the seawater in a 'deplorable state,' according to local reports.
