An emergency response unit was dispatched to the Krasnodar region in southern Russia on Sunday due to a persistent oil spill in the Kerch Strait that originated from two tankers affected by storms. This incident, which has been ongoing for a month, was highlighted by officials following a directive from President Vladimir Putin, who emphasized the need for a heightened response to what he labeled “one of the most serious environmental challenges we have faced in recent years.”
Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov, who is part of the task force, reported that the situation is particularly critical near the port of Taman. There, fuel oil continues to leak from the damaged Volgoneft-239 tanker. Kurenkov indicated that efforts are underway to remove residual oil from the stern of the tanker, according to statements made to Russian state media.
The Emergencies Ministry disclosed that over 155,000 tons of contaminated sand and dirt have been collected since the oil began leaking following the storm that struck four weeks ago. This incident occurred in the Kerch Strait, which separates the Crimean Peninsula, now under Russian control, from the Krasnodar region.
In a related development, Russian officials in the Zaporizhzhia region, which is partially controlled by Moscow, reported that mazut, a type of heavy fuel, reached the Berdyansk Spit, approximately 145 kilometers (90 miles) to the north of the Kerch Strait. This spill has tainted a stretch of coastline measuring 14.5 kilometers (about 9 miles), as noted by Yevgeny Balitsky, the governor installed by Russia, via a Telegram message.
Moreover, officials in Crimea, also under Russian administration, declared a regional emergency last weekend when oil slicks were found along the shores of Sevastopol, the largest city in the peninsula, nearly 250 kilometers (about 155 miles) from the original spill site.
In reaction to President Putin’s urgent appeal for action, Heorhii Tykhyi, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry, accused Russia of only showing concern after the disaster’s impact became undeniable. He criticized the Russian government for its typical pattern of neglecting such issues, subsequently acknowledging their inability to address them, and ultimately leaving the Black Sea area to fend for itself concerning the spill’s fallout.
The Kerch Strait serves as a major international shipping lane, linking the Sea of Azov to the Black Sea, and it has been a focal point of conflict following Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014. Ukraine brought a case against Russia to the Permanent Court of Arbitration in 2016, claiming illegal attempts to exert control over the region. Additionally, in 2021, Russia restricted access to the strait for several months.
Mykhailo Podolyak, an advisor to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, characterized last month’s oil spill as a significant environmental catastrophe and advocated for imposing further sanctions on Russian tankers to mitigate the crisis.
