Russian taskforce arrives in Krasnodar as oil spill from tankers in Kerch Strait spreads

euronews (in English)

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.

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00:00An emergency task force has arrived in Russia's southern Krasnodar region as an oil spill

00:07from two tankers in the Kerch Strait continues to spread.

00:11The team was set up after President Vladimir Putin called on authorities to ramp up the

00:15response to the spill, calling it one of the most serious environmental challenges.

00:20The team includes Russia's emergency situations minister.

00:24The two tankers were damaged in a storm in the Kerch Strait in mid-December with one

00:50of the vessels breaking in two.

00:53Both tankers were carrying more than 8,000 tons of Mazot, a low-quality oil product

00:58mainly used in power plants.

01:01Officials in Russia-occupied Crimea announced a regional emergency last weekend after oil

01:05was detected in Sevastopol.

01:08That came a week after officials in Krasnodar made a similar announcement.

01:13Ukraine has criticized Russia's response, accusing Moscow of only acting when the scale

01:17of the disaster became too great to ignore.

01:21The Kerch Strait is an important global shipping route, providing passage from the inland sea

01:25of Azov to the Black Sea.

01:28It's also been a key point of conflict between Russia and Ukraine after Moscow annexed the

01:32peninsula in 2014.

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