Cleaning fuel oil from Crimean coast is problematic due to Russian military – media outlet

Roman Petrenko — 12 January, 15:48

A stretch of Crimean coast covered in fuel oil leaked by Russian ships. Photo: Russian occupiers

The cleanup of the coastline of occupied Crimea, which has been polluted by fuel oil leaked by wrecked Russian ships, is extremely challenging because the coastal zone has been closed off by Russian military forces.

Source: Krym.Realii (Crimea.Realities), a Radio Liberty project, citing human rights activists

Details: Krym.Realii said that after the Ukrainian military successfully landed special forces on Crimea's western shore in 2023, the Russian military built a defence barrier and prohibited local residents and tourists from going to the majority of the beaches in the area.

This means they are unable to clean up the beaches. The Russian occupiers are supposedly trying to find a "solution to this problem", but thus far, "military priorities are prevailing over environmental ones".

Background: On the morning of 15 December, two tankers, Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239, sank in the Kerch Strait. They broke in half, and fuel oil began to leak into the water.

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