Russia Faces Environmental Crisis as Kerch Strait Oil Spill Spreads

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An emergency task force has been deployed to Russia's Krasnodar region to address a significant oil spill in the Kerch Strait, which has continued to expand over the past month. The situation originates from two tankers that were struck by a storm, leading to a substantial leakage of fuel oil. Russian President Vladimir Putin has classified this incident as “one of the most serious environmental challenges we have faced in recent years,” prompting the establishment of the task force led by Emergency Situations Minister Alexander Kurenkov.

Kurenkov identified the port of Taman as the most severely affected area, where fuel oil is still seeping from the damaged Volgoneft-239 tanker. As of now, over 155,000 tons of contaminated sand and soil have been collected in cleanup efforts. Additionally, the spill's impact has reached the Berdyansk Spit, approximately 145 kilometers from the Kerch Strait, contaminating a 14.5-kilometer stretch.

Despite calls for action, Ukraine's Foreign Ministry criticized Russia for its delayed response, asserting that the scale of the disaster had become undeniable. The Kerch Strait is a crucial shipping lane connecting the Black Sea to the Sea of Azov and has been a focal point of tension between Russia and Ukraine since the annexation of Crimea.

Environmental advocates have labeled the spill a “large-scale environmental disaster” and are urging further action against Russian tankers to prevent similar incidents in the future.

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