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.

Russian President Vladimir Putin calls the incident an "ecological disaster" as officials and volunteers attempt to clean beaches contaminated with the heavy oil.

Russian investigators have determined that an oil spill from two tankers in the Black Sea last month was smaller than initially thought, the Transport Ministry said on Thursday.

The amount of oil spilled in the Kerch Strait by two Russian oil tankers is "significantly less than the initial estimate," Russia's Transport Ministry claimed on Jan. 2.

A dolphin rescue center in Russia says 32 dolphins have died since fuel oil spilled out of two storm-stricken tankers three weeks ago in the Kerch Strait near the Russia-occupied Crimean Peninsula

An oil spill in the Black Sea is believed to have resulted in the death of over 30 cetaceans, including several members of an endangered subspecies. The spill, which occurred after two Russian oil tankers were damaged in a storm in mid-December 2024,