A month after the fuel spill in the Kerch Strait from two tankers affected by storms, it continues to spread. An emergency task force arrived on Sunday in the Krasnodar region in southern Russia to clean up the area, as reported by AP.
The task force, including the Minister of Emergency Situations, Alexander Kurenkov, was established after Russian President Vladimir Putin urged authorities on Friday to intensify the response to the spill, describing it as "one of the most serious environmental challenges we have faced in recent years."
The Emergency Ministry stated on Saturday that over 155,000 tons of contaminated sand and soil have been collected since the fuel spilled from two tankers during a storm four weeks ago in the Kerch Strait, separating Russia-occupied Crimea from the Krasnodar region.
Officials appointed by Russia in the Zaporizhia region, partially occupied by Russia in Ukraine, reported on Saturday that mazut —a heavy, low-quality petroleum product— had reached the Berdyansk Spit, about 145 kilometers (90 miles) north of the Kerch Strait. The substance contaminated a 14.5-kilometer (9-mile) long area, as written on Telegram by Moscow-appointed governor Yevgeny Balitsky.
Officials appointed by Russia in occupied Crimea declared a regional emergency last weekend after fuel was detected on the shores of Sevastopol, the largest city on the peninsula, about 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Kerch Strait.
In response to Putin's call to action, the spokesperson for the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Heorhii Tykhyi, accused Russia of "starting to show its alleged 'concern' only after the magnitude of the disaster became too obvious to hide its terrible consequences."
"Russia's practice of first ignoring the problem, then admitting its inability to solve it, and ultimately leaving the entire Black Sea region alone with the consequences is further evidence of its international irresponsibility," Tykhyi stated on Friday.
The Kerch Strait is a crucial route for global shipping traffic, connecting the inner sea of Azov to the Black Sea. It has also been a key point of conflict between Russia and Ukraine since Moscow annexed Crimea in 2014.
In 2016, Ukraine brought Moscow to the Permanent Court of Arbitration, accusing Russia of attempting to illegally take control of the area. In 2021, Russia closed the strait for several months.
Mykhailo Podolyak, advisor to the head of the Ukrainian President's Office, Volodymyr Zelensky, described last month's spill as a "large-scale environmental disaster" and called for additional sanctions against Russian tankers.