The oil spill in the Krasnodar Territory led to the death of more than 13 thousand birds.

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The Ministry of Nature of the Krasnodar Territory, whose lawsuit against the owners of tankers that crashed in the Kerch Strait in December 2024 was satisfied by the arbitration court, reported the death of more than 13 thousand birds.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", on October 15, the Arbitration Court of the Krasnodar Territory fully satisfied the claim of the regional Ministry of Nature for the recovery from the owners of the tankers that crashed in the Kerch Strait in December 2024, totaling 34.2 billion rubles.

In the decision of the Arbitration Court of the Krasnodar Territory, which satisfied the requirement of the regional Ministry of Nature against the owners of the tankers "Volgoneft-212" and "Volgoneft-239" and recovered from the owners of the vessels more than 34.2 billion rubles for environmental damage, it is stated that as a result of the oil spill on the coast of Anapa and the Temryuk district, more than 13 thousand birds died, writes "Morning South" on November 3.

According to the Ministry of Nature of Kuban, the amount of damage from the death of birds amounted to 93.6 million rubles. A total of 13,524 birds died, which were found on the coast or died in rescue and rehabilitation centers. The population of the great crested grebe was the most severely affected, with more than 10 thousand individuals dying. 952 individuals of the European black-throated diver died, 468 coots, 442 little grebes, 285 red-necked grebes, and 243 black-necked grebes, reports the Telegram channel "Nature in Law".

At the same time, the agency clarified that the death of birds continues.

Also, according to the Ministry of Nature, in the regional natural monument "Lake Solenoe", oil contaminated 1,336 square meters of soil along 1.4 kilometers of the coastline. The damage is estimated at 3.13 million rubles. 89.16 hectares were negatively affected, including 65.01 hectares within the boundaries of specially protected natural areas of the natural park "Anapa Spit", the natural monuments "Cape Iron Horn", "Cape Panagia". These territories are home to 17 rare species - 15 species of birds, the western colored lizard, and the Sarmatian motley.

All claims were filed by officials against the backdrop of dissatisfaction from volunteers regarding the role of authorities in cleaning up the oil. Thus, in October 2025, the volunteer headquarters "Dolphins" pointed out that volunteers collected about half of the contaminated sand, the removal of which was reported by the authorities, however, in official reports, the work of volunteers is not even mentioned.

The tankers "Volgoneft-212" and "Volgoneft-239" crashed in the Kerch Strait on December 15, 2024. The destruction of their hulls led to a massive spill of petroleum products, due to which a federal state of emergency was declared in the Krasnodar Territory on December 26 of the same year.

Materials on the consequences of the oil spill have been collected by "Caucasian Knot" on the page "Ecological Disaster in Kuban". Also, "Caucasian Knot" published a reference "The Scale of Oil Pollution in Southern Russia".