Social media users disagreed with the authorities' assessment of the scale of the Tuapse spill.

Authorities consider the emissions "local," but the oil products have already spread to nearby villages beyond Tuapse. For example, in the village of Tyumensky, residents have organized a shoreline cleanup and are calling on volunteers to help.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," more than 2,500 cubic meters of contaminated soil have been removed from the coastline in Tuapse, the head of the district reported. Telegram users were surprised to see that the videos published showed people with shovels, not specialized equipment, collecting oil products, and that the cleanup was being carried out without respirators.

Authorities described the pollution in Tuapse as localized.

More than 3,000 cubic meters of contaminated soil were collected in Tuapse following the oil spill. The work involves 26 pieces of equipment and more than 130 people – employees of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia for the Krasnodar Territory, Kuban-SPAS, and other organizations. On Monday, April 27, they plan to deploy additional equipment and personnel from Kuban-SPAS, city mayor Sergei Boyko announced on his Telegram channel.

He described the pollution as "local," stating that volunteers could join the effort to clean the city of soot and combustion products.

At the same time, authorities previously reported that access to the city's central beach was closed.

Users consider the spill to be large-scale

However, social media users are posting a different picture.

"A large-scale oil spill continues to move along the coast, has reached the Olginka area, and is spreading further. The wild beach beyond Belaya Rus has suffered serious damage: a significant portion of its territory is covered in a thick layer of fuel oil. Unfortunately, the scale of the pollution is so extensive that cleanup by individual volunteers is an extremely difficult task. The situation is especially dire. "A huge amount of fuel oil has accumulated on the beach in the village of Tyumensky, located between the village itself and the Zorka sanatorium. Local residents are attempting to clean up the mess themselves, but their efforts are insufficient due to the scale of the disaster and a lack of resources," according to a post from a reader of the Telegram channel "My Tuapse."

"Tyumensky village. One spill has already been cleaned up, but there's a fresh stain on the water. Kuban-SPAS is working here, and there's another section of local residents and volunteers," writes environmentalist Zhora Kavanosyan on his Telegram channel.

Residents of Tyumensky themselves have come out to protect the shore. People have organized a cleanup effort and "removed about half of it," environmentalist Roman Pukalov reported, citing village resident Andrei Chernenko. Kuban-Spas, which works alongside the volunteers, provided protective equipment. Today, they collected over 500 bags of oil-contaminated soil in bags with polyethylene liners.

Difficulties arose with transporting the fuel oil. "Private owners don't agree, naturally. Who wants to dirty the entire truck bed? We need government support. Residents are willing to hire equipment with their own village road allowance. That's wrong," he writes.

The "Razliv na svyazi" group posted an announcement seeking volunteers for a shore cleanup in Tyumenskoye on April 27.

"There's a lot of work here, and, unfortunately, we can't handle it ourselves. We've been provided with everything we need: respirators, protective suits, bags—that's not the problem. We just need hands," wrote Nadezhda.

Blogger Yuri Ozarovsky posted a video on his Telegram channel, filmed from a train window on April 26. Large oil spills are visible along the coast.

Animals and birds affected by the spill

Roman Pukalov also reported that 15 birds affected by the fuel oil were collected today in Tuapse for temporary shelter at "Volodya's house." Twelve of them hitchhiked to Anapa (Vityazevo). Three were brought in late afternoon.

The oil removal center for stray animals has been operating for three days now, with dozens of cats and dogs being brought in daily. Volunteers from all over the city catch the animals. They manage to catch up to 15 dogs per trip, though cats are more difficult. According to volunteers, animals that aren't caught have virtually no chance of survival, reports "Horizontal Russia 7x7"*.

At the center, the animals are washed, their contaminated fur is trimmed, and they are combed. After treatment, some dogs are returned to their original habitats, while those requiring treatment are sent to veterinary clinics in the region, including Krasnodar. The center's operations rely entirely on volunteers—residents bring medications, food, protective clothing, and groceries. Coordination is being conducted via instant messaging apps, the publication states.

Tuapse residents complained about the transportation of fuel oil

"Why aren't the necessary measures being taken when transporting fuel oil? All the city roads are covered in fuel oil, trucks are spreading it all over the city, the asphalt is black, birds, animals, people are collecting it all on their feet, paws...," wrote one reader in the Telegram channel "My Tuapse." A video of black sludge leaking from the back of a truck was attached to the message.

As a reminder, a fire broke out at an oil terminal in the port of Tuapse on the night of April 20 following a drone attack. Residents reported that "an oil rain" had fallen in the city and considered the burning oil terminal a source of environmental threat. On the afternoon of April 24, the governor of Kuban announced that the fire at the port had been extinguished.

On April 22, authorities acknowledged that benzene, xylene, and soot concentrations in the air in areas near the marine terminal (Grozneft, Sortirovka, and Zvezdny, as well as part of the Central District) had exceeded permissible levels by two to three times. These data were based on measurements taken on the evening of April 21. The fire at the marine terminal poses a risk due to the release of combustion products, which are carcinogenic and toxic. The "black rain" that fell in Tuapse reduced the level of harmful substances in the air, but led to soil pollution, environmentalists emphasized.

Air pollution from the fire and oil spill in Tuapse affected the industrial zone, and popular hotels are located tens of kilometers from the port, tour operators stated. They noted that no decline in sales of resort packages is expected.

On December 15, 2024, two fuel oil tankers sank in the Kerch Strait. A crew member from one of the tankers died as a result. In addition, an oil spill occurred, leading to catastrophic environmental consequences, according to the Caucasian Knot report "Fuel Oil Spill in the Kerch Strait".

Materials on the consequences of the fuel oil spill have been collected by the Caucasian Knot on the page "Eco-disaster in Kuban".