The Kerch Strait is an important global shipping route, providing passage from the inland Sea of Azov to the Black Sea and has been a key point of conflict between Russia and Ukraine after Moscow annexed the peninsula in 2014.

An animal rescue group said 61 dead cetaceans - an order of aquatic mammals that includes whales and dolphins - had been recorded since the oil spill.

Fresh oil started pouring from a stricken Russian tanker in the Black Sea on Friday, said officials in Moscow, as Ukraine warned of "terrible environmental consequences" from the spill.

Emergency workers toiling to clean up an oil spill in the Black Sea have detected seven new slicks, a Russian official told the TASS state news agency on Friday, as authorities struggle to mitigate the effects of the nearly month-old disaster.

The amount of oil spilled in the Kerch Strait by two Russian oil tankers is "significantly less than the initial estimate," Russia's Transport Ministry claimed on Jan. 2.

In this photo taken from video released by Russian Emergency Ministry Press Service on Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, rescuers and volunteers work to clean up tons of fuel oil that

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that more needed to be done to clean up an oil spill in the Black Sea, saying efforts so far appeared to have been insufficient to deal with the ecological disaster.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to establish a headquarters to manage the aftermath of the tanker accident in the Kerch Strait. This reaction from the Kremlin leader appears demonstrative,

In December 2024, two aging Russian tankers were damaged during a storm in the Kerch Strait, resulting in a significant oil spill that released approximately 2,400 metric tons of heavy fuel oil into the Black Sea.

The Black Sea has recently faced a devastating environmental disaster due to an oil spill from Russian tankers. Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the situation and stated that current efforts to address the crisis are insufficient,