According to the Russian Ministry of Emergencies, the country continues to clean the Kerch Strait in the Black Sea. This is after a spill of oil caused by two Russian oil tankers in December last year.
A stroke has released at least 3700 tons of Travelleum.
A Kerch Strait, which separates the peninsula from the Crimea, occupied by Russia from continental Russia, is a vital marine route around the world connecting the inside of the Sea of Azov with the Black Sea. It also became an important moment in the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, as Moscow put the peninsula in 2014.
The incident occurred when the Volgoneft-212 and Volgoneft-239 oil tankers were caught by a storm. One of the ships left in half and eventually plunged, killing a crew member. The second ship began to pour oil.
The Ministry of Emergency Situations reported that more than 418 kilometers of the coast was cleaned and that more than 154,300 tons of polluted sand and soil were removed. According to estimates, about 913 million euros were spent on these cleanings, according to the Russian Sanitary Agency.
Russian President Vladimir Putin considered the oil stroke “ecological disaster.”
Russian scientist Viktor Danilov-Danyan called the stroke one of the worst “environmental disasters” of the 21st century.
In December, Mikhailo Podlilyak, who is an adviser to the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, called a stroke as a “big environmental disaster” and turned to additional sanctions against Russian oil tankers.
Video editor • Lucy Daval