The emergency situation applies in Kertj and Leninskij, according to the authorities in the areas annexed by Russia.
The situation is very critical. Unfortunately, negative environmental consequences are unavoidable, says the Kremlin's spokesperson Dmitrij Peskov.
Last week, Russia's President Vladimir Putin called the oil spill an "ecological catastrophe".
It was on December 15 that two older Russian tankers got into distress in the Kertj Strait, which connects the Azov Sea with the Black Sea. One of the vessels broke apart in the storm and sank, while the other ran aground.
The vessels, Volgoneft 212 and Volgoneft 239, were built over 50 years ago and were initially approved only for river traffic. They had a combined cargo of 9,200 tons of fuel oil, according to the state-controlled Russian news agency Tass.
