Volunteers posted footage of their cleanup efforts along the Kuban coastline on social media.

Volunteers collecting oil from the coast of Tuapse and the surrounding area shared footage of their work on social media and reported a lack of assistance from the authorities. Liquid petroleum products are buried under pebbles and are more difficult to collect than the thick fuel oil in Anapa, a participant noted.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," UAVs attacked the Tuapse seaport area on the night of May 1st. Volunteers cleaning areas outside the city center stated that they are short of hands and short of government assistance.

Volunteers helping clean up the aftermath of the environmental disaster in Tuapse and nearby villages are posting photos and videos on social media of oil spills on the shore, oil-covered birds, and the carcasses of dead dolphins. According to some of those involved, the volunteers continue to clean the shore despite their deteriorating health.

“The entire town reeks of smoke. Puddles of oil on the pebbles and in the sea. Exhausted birds and dead dolphins on the beaches. The deputy head of the village arrived: ‘Do you need anything?’ No, no, ‘thank you’... Until there was a public outcry, there was no help, no offers,” reads a post on the Instagram* group typicalkrd.

The author of the post did not specify which village she was referring to. The video shows volunteers in respirators and protective suits stained with fuel oil working on the shore, evacuating injured birds in boxes and packing dead dolphins into bags. Commenters on the video thanked the volunteers and expressed outrage at the government's claims of "control" of the situation.

"Is this situation only a concern for volunteers? Where's the government's help?" asks marina_009_n, perplexed. "Why volunteers again? Why caring people again? We've been crushed as small businesses, and yet here we are, struggling with our last strength to help those who need us!" exclaims salon_opera_.

“It would be nice to put the phrase ‘everything under control’ right at the doorsteps of those who say so. It’s an environmental disaster, people are breathing in filth, flora and fauna are dying, and yet here, it turns out, everything’s fine,” user i.l.e.n.k.a noted, thanking the volunteers.

“Why should poor volunteers help again? Where’s the real help? This is a nationwide situation!” says ya_toma. “The Sochi and Tuapse coasts are beyond help,” believes shprehan922.

Videos taken on the Tuapse shore have been published on the “Makovozovy” Telegram channel. The channel's author shared a comment from a volunteer named Karnaukhov, who commented on the situation.

"I'm honestly showing the problem in Tuapse. I took a shovel, dug, and showed what might not be visible at first glance. How oil products are hidden under the pebbles. I showed the area—it's impossible to get equipment there, and it's impossible to do it manually, so we need to find a solution (...) It turns out the surface looks clear, but dig deeper into the rocks and you'll find oil," the post reads.

"Oil isn't fuel oil; it will certainly seep down. At least fuel oil can be collected," commentator L K stated. "This is a disaster, very bad for nature, to put it politely. All these man-made disasters are a disaster for nature, birds, animals, and, unfortunately, for people," lamented Telegram user Elena Kulemina.

The scale of oil pollution in the Black Sea near Tuapse following the attacks on the local oil refinery could be more significant than the consequences for Anapa of the oil tanker disaster in the Kerch Strait, ecologists previously indicated. "These oil products penetrate much deeper into pebbles and large rocks, making them much more difficult to remove. Therefore, in this case, I think it will take much longer than it could even in Anapa," said Veniamin Golubitchenko, a member of the environmental council under the governor of Krasnodar Krai.

On April 24, after the booms broke Due to rising water levels in the Tuapse River, an oil spill occurred in the Black Sea. Authorities declared the spill "local," but the oil spill spread to nearby villages. Fuel oil has spread over a large area, and it is being cleaned up mainly by volunteers, local residents told the "Caucasian Knot" on April 26.

18:09 26.12.2025

A Tuapse resident complained about delays in home repairs after a drone attack

A Tuapse resident's apartment was completely destroyed by fire after a drone attack on November 25. She is forced to live in rented accommodation. Neighboring apartments were also damaged, but a month later, on the orders of the authorities, they only put up a film instead of a roof.

As a reminder, a Tuapse resident, Evgeniya, left the city on April 28 because she believes the conditions there are dangerous for children's health.

"My apartment was destroyed after a drone attack on November 25th last year. I moved to another, quieter area, but after the latest attack, I decided to move further away. I have been renting an apartment for five months at my own expense. I do not have temporary housing. "We have provided. We have appealed to the authorities for help, but they are deaf," she told a "Caucasian Knot" correspondent.

Materials on the consequences of the fuel oil spills in the Kerch Strait and in Tuapse have been collected by the "Caucasian Knot" on the page "Eco-disaster in Kuban". Data on the scale of coastal pollution has been collected by the "Caucasian Knot" in the reference material "Fuel oil spill in the Kerch Strait".