Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that more needed to be done to clean up an oil spill in the Black Sea, saying efforts so far appeared to have been insufficient to deal with the ecological disaster.

The oil spill in the Black Sea that has hit Russian and Crimean coasts since mid-December is particularly hard to clean up because it involves a "heavy" fuel that is less likely to float.

Russia declared a regional state of emergency on Saturday in Crimea, which it seized from Ukraine in 2014, as workers cleared tons of contaminated sand and earth on either side of the Kerch Strait following an oil spill in the Black Sea last month.

The Russian government made the declaration after a number of its tankers were sank in the body of water between itself, Ukraine, Turkey and Romania.

At least 32 dolphins died in the Black Sea due to fuel oil spill caused by an accident involving two Russian tankers in the stormy Kerch Strait. — Ukrinform.

More than 10,000 people have been working to shovel up viscous, foul-smelling fuel oil from sandy beaches in and around Anapa, a popular summer resort. Environmental groups have reported deaths of dolphins,

Russian rescue workers have cleared more than 86,000 metric tons of contaminated sand and earth on either side of the Kerch Strait following an oil spill in the Black Sea last month, the emergencies ministry said on Saturday (Jan 4).

President Vladimir Putin on Thursday criticized Russian officials for their slow response to what he described as the country’s most serious environmental disaster in recent memory. “This is practically one of the most serious environmental challenges we’ve faced in recent years,