32 Dolphins Dead After Oil Spill

Thirty-two dolphins have died since fuel oil spilled out of two storm-stricken tankers three weeks ago in the Kerch Strait, which separates the Russia-occupied Crimean Peninsula from Russia's southern Krasnodar region, an animal rescue group said Sunday. Russia's Delfa Dolphin Rescue and Research Center said the deaths are "most likely related to the fuel oil spill." The center said on the messaging app Telegram that a total of 61 dead cetaceans—an order of aquatic mammals that includes whales and dolphins—had been recorded since the emergency, but the condition of the bodies suggested that the 29 others had died before the spill, the AP reports.

"Judging by the condition of the bodies, most likely the majority of these cetaceans died in the first 10 days after the disaster. And now the sea continues to wash them up," the center wrote, noting that most of the dead dolphins were from the endangered Azov species. Russia's Emergencies Ministry said Sunday that over 96,000 tons of contaminated sand and soil had been removed by officials and volunteers along the shoreline of the Krasnodar region's Anapa and Temryuk districts. Russian President Vladimir Putin has called the oil spill an "ecological disaster." An adviser to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky made a similar statement last month, and called for additional sanctions on Russian tankers.

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