A regional state of emergency was introduced in the occupied Crimea. The reason was a fuel oil spill in the Black Sea, according to the Russian media. The corresponding decree was issued by the Governor of Crimea Sergey Aksyonov.

Authorities in Russia's southern Krasnodar region on Wednesday declared a region-wide emergency, saying that oil was still washing up on the coastline 10 days after two ageing tankers ran into trouble.

The Russian government made the declaration after a number of its tankers were sank in the body of water between itself, Ukraine, Turkey and Romania.

One tanker sank and another ran aground on December 15 in the Kerch Strait between Russia and the annexed Crimean peninsula.

Volunteers helping to clean up a major oil spill along Russia's Black Sea coast appealed in a video released on Monday for President Vladimir Putin to urgently send federal aid, saying that they and local authorities were overwhelmed.

Russian ruler Vladimir Putin has introduced a federal state of emergency due to the fuel oil spill following the 15 December tanker accident in the Kerch Strait. Source: Latvia-based Russian media outlet Meduza;

Russia Wednesday expanded an operation to clean up thousands of tonnes of oil that spilt into the sea and contaminated 50 kilometers of beaches after tanker ships were wrecked in a storm.

Thousands of volunteers are working to clean up oil slicks along sandy beaches in Russia after two stricken tankers spilled oil into the Black Sea.

Moscow on Thursday declared a national state of emergency following an oil spill caused by two separate incidents involving Russian tankers in the Black Sea. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations said in a statement that a severe storm hit the two tankers on December 15,

Some 3,700 tons of low-grade fuel oil have spilled into the Black Sea since two Russian oil tankers were severely damaged in a storm on Dec. 15.