In Odesa region, oil has once again polluted coastline of "Tuzly Estuaries". VIDEO
New stretches of coastline and shallow Black Sea waters contaminated with vegetable oil have been discovered in the Tuzly Lagoons National Nature Park in the Odesa region. The pollution was recorded on November 3 and 4.
Ecologist and national park employee Ivan Rusiev reported this on Facebook, Censor.NET reports.
"On November 3 and 4, 2026, national park staff discovered several more stretches of coastline and shallow sea areas contaminated with vegetable oil," the ecologist said.
According to him, vegetable oil adversely affects the sand barrier's vulnerable microbial communities — natural communities of microorganisms that play an important role in the functioning of coastal ecosystems.
Extent of the previous pollution
Rusiev recalled that on October 26, following strong easterly winds and a storm, vegetable oil washed up on beaches and sandy shores along various stretches of the national park's coastline.
Initially, the contaminated area covered around 10,000 square meters. By that evening, however, it had increased approximately tenfold to 100,000 square meters.
The ecologist did not specify the size of the newly contaminated areas discovered in early November.
Previous vegetable oil spills caused by Russian attacks
In April 2025, a Russian attack on the Odesa region destroyed a tank containing 6,000 metric tons of sunflower oil at Chornomorsk port. Some of the oil entered the port waters.
In December 2025, a Russian strike on Pivdennyi port also caused vegetable oil to leak into the Black Sea.
However, the origin of the oil discovered along the Tuzly Lagoons coastline in November 2026 has yet to be established.
