Russian strikes on Ukraine's largest port have left Odesa's beaches littered with dead and dying seabirds after thousands of tons of sunflower oil spilled into the Black Sea, forcing authorities to close the port and launch a cleanup operation under fire.
Oil-like slicks and dozens of dead birds now cover Odesa's beaches, including Otrada, Lanzheron, and Delfin. The Odesa Zoo has begun taking in surviving birds for rehabilitation, but the ecological toll continues to mount as spilled oil spreads along the coast. The Gulf of Odesa acts as a natural "trap" for surface pollution, keeping contamination concentrated along the shore.
Russian shelling delayed oil spill cleanup for two days
The disaster traces back to December 20-22, when Russian missile and drone strikes hit Port Pivdennyi and the Allseeds Black Sea terminal—Ukraine's largest vegetable oil facility. One employee was killed, two were wounded, and the attacks inflicted the company's heaviest damage since the war began, Allseeds director of trade Cornelis Vrins told AFP.
For two days after the initial strike, Russian forces continued bombarding the port. Cleanup crews could work only during brief pauses between air raid alerts, according to the Ukrainian Sea Ports Authority. Specialists gradually installed boom barriers, but the delay allowed vegetable oil to flow from damaged tanks onto the port grounds, into the Sukhyi estuary, and out to sea.
Ukraine closes Port Pivdennyi as environmental damage assessed
Port Pivdennyi's water area has been temporarily closed until the spill is fully contained, stated the Odesa Oblast State Administration. Authorities have sealed the port channel with two layers of boom barriers, deployed specialized vessels to collect pollutants, and cordoned off contaminated beaches.
Odesa Oblast head Oleh Kiper emphasized that sunflower oil is an organic substance that biodegrades naturally—a key difference from the crude oil spill that poisoned Black Sea coastlines after Russian tankers broke apart in the Kerch Strait last December. Still, the vegetable oil has proven deadly for seabirds caught in the slick.
The State Environmental Inspectorate and the Odesa Regional Center for Disease Control are monitoring water quality, while the Odesa Regional Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation into environmental damage. A final damage assessment will come only after complete containment.
Russian strikes on Odesa ports cause repeated environmental damage
Vladyslav Balinsky, head of the Green Leaf environmental NGO, told Intent.press that Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure "systematically create large-scale environmental risks." A previous oil spill from a Russian strike on Odesa Oblast port infrastructure in April 2024 caused nearly 152 million hryvnias ($3.7 mn) in environmental damage. An October 2024 attack leaked more than 125 tons of sunflower oil into the Sukhyi estuary, eventually assessed at 10.9 billion hryvnias ($264 mn) in damages.
Port Pivdennyi handled 35.55 million tons of cargo in 2024—making it Ukraine's busiest port on government-controlled territory and a strategic target for Russian strikes.
