An oil tanker that burned for weeks in the Red Sea and threatened a massive oil spill has been “successfully” salvaged

Fresh oil started pouring from a stricken Russian tanker in the Black Sea on Friday, said officials in Moscow, as Ukraine warned of "terrible environmental consequences" from the spill.

The Black Sea is home to different cetacean species — some endangered — and it was the site of an oil spill in the middle of December that killed 31 of them.

An animal rescue group said 61 dead cetaceans - an order of aquatic mammals that includes whales and dolphins - had been recorded since the oil spill.

Emergency workers toiling to clean up an oil spill in the Black Sea have detected seven new slicks, a Russian official told the TASS state news agency on Friday, as authorities struggle to mitigate the effects of the nearly month-old disaster.

In December 2024, two aging Russian tankers were damaged during a storm in the Kerch Strait, resulting in a significant oil spill that released approximately 2,400 metric tons of heavy fuel oil into the Black Sea.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has decided to establish a headquarters to manage the aftermath of the tanker accident in the Kerch Strait. This reaction from the Kremlin leader appears demonstrative,

The Black Sea has recently faced a devastating environmental disaster due to an oil spill from Russian tankers. Russian President Vladimir Putin acknowledged the situation and stated that current efforts to address the crisis are insufficient,