Massive fuel oil emissions recorded on the Crimean coast

In the annexed Crimea, on the eve of the summer holiday season, fuel oil emissions on the coast and oil pollution in the Black Sea have been recorded for more than ten days.

This is reported by the Krym.Realii project, citing satellite imagery, environmentalists, and local residents.

The first reports of fuel oil on the beaches appeared on May 7. The pollution was found on the northern side of Sevastopol, and later - in the area of Cape Fiolent, on the beaches of Big Yalta, in Gurzuf, Miskhor, and near Feodosia.

According to the Russian environmental monitoring project Transparent World, Sentinel-1 satellites recorded long dark streaks in the sea, characteristic of oil pollution. In particular, on May 12, traces of oil products were traced along the southern coast of Crimea, from Alushta towards Sudak, and on May 13, in the direction of Feodosia and Koktebel.

Russian ecologist Zhora Kavanosyan said that the situation in Yalta is "much worse," and that local authorities are allegedly trying to hush up the problem. According to him, the cleaning of polluted beaches is mainly done by volunteers.

Local residents also complain about the inaction of the occupation authorities. A resident of Sevastopol told reporters that she had received no response after appealing to the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations and the local administration, so she had to clean up the fuel oil from the beach herself.

Despite the numerous reports of pollution, the Russian-controlled Crimean authorities have hardly commented on the situation. In Sevastopol, officials only reported "spotty pollution" and reported 31 bags of fuel oil collected. At the same time, in Yalta and other resort towns, the problem is hardly ever mentioned in public.

Activists assume that the Russian authorities are trying not to focus on the "fuel oil issue" before the start of the tourist season in order not to scare away vacationers from Russia.

According to environmentalists, the source of the pollution could be a leak of oil products from the Sofia tanker near the Kerch Strait on April 7. The vessel, which is associated with Russia's "shadow fleet," is under sanctions from the United States, the EU, the United Kingdom and other countries.

As a reminder, in February, another wave of oil pollution of the coastline was recorded in the temporarily occupied Crimea.

Also, as of the end of 2025, the total amount of damage caused to the nature reserve fund of the Kamianska Sich National Park in Kherson region was estimated at UAH 107 billion. The territory of the reserve, which was seized by the invaders in March 2022 and where the front line passed twice, continues to suffer from shelling even after de-occupation. In particular, in January 2026, in one of the settlements of the region, the Russian military attacked a park service vehicle with a drone.

Андрій Колісніченко