A pro-Russian separatist leader in eastern Ukraine's Donetsk region has hailed the voyage of a ship that has become the first to depart from the southeastern city of Mariupol loaded with cargo since Russia took the city.

Denis Pushilin said on social media that 2,500 tons of hot-rolled steel sheets left the port of Mariupol on Tuesday. He said the ship is headed for Rostov Region in southern Russia, about 160 kilometers away.

Pushilin stressed Mariupol's status as the largest port on the Sea of Azov and noted that it can be used even in winter. He said he is confident that the reopening of the port will lead to reconstruction and economic development.

Ukraine has claimed that Russia is trying to transport huge amounts of metal that it stole in regions it has seized.