Russia introduces state of emergency because of fuel oil spill in Black Sea

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; Radio Liberty, citing the words of Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-appointed "head" of Crimea

Quote from Aksyonov: "Yesterday we talked with my colleagues, this situation will be given the status of an emergency on the federal level by the decision of the leader [Vladimir Putin]."

Details: Aksyonov claimed that raising the state of emergency to the federal level would mean allocating money from the federal budget to deal with the consequences of the fuel oil spill.

Background:

• On the morning of 15 December, two tankers, Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239, sank in the Kerch Strait. They were broken in half and fuel oil started leaking into the water.
• Following the tanker accidents, Greenpeace Ukraine warned that Russia's militarisation of the Black and Azov Seas was leading to a new environmental disaster.
• On 25 December, a state of emergency was declared in Russia's Krasnodar Krai due to the fuel oil pollution on the Black Sea coast.

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