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Military start using Mariupol airport, Deputy PM Khusnullin reports to Putin

Acording to the official, the airport building will be reconstructed at the end of 2023

MARIUPOL, March 19. /TASS/. The airport of Mariupol is already used for military targets, while civilian flights are not accepted yet, with the start of full-fledged work planned for 2025, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Marat Khusnullin reported to President Vladimir Putin.

"The [airport building] will be reconstructed at the end of 2023, it is also planned to be a full-fledged airport with the possibility of flying to all Russian cities and abroad. It is planned for 2025. Now the nearest airport is in Rostov and Taganrog, 150 km away. So far it is used for military targets," he said in video footage of Putin’s working visit to Mariupol posted on Sunday.

Despite the fact that the airport building was severely damaged as a result of shelling by Ukrainian troops, the runaway remained more or less, Deputy PM added.

Mariupol, the largest city on the shore of the Sea of Azov, is one of the key steel manufacturing centers in Donbass and a major seaport. The battle for Mariupol started on February 25, 2022. Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu told President on April 21, 2022 that the city had been liberated by the Russian military and the forces of the People’s Militia of the DPR.

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