Environmental reports on Sunday indicated that an oil spill in the Kerch Strait, which separates the Crimean Peninsula from the Krasnodar region in southern Russia, has resulted in the death of 32 endangered dolphins.

The incident occurred after a storm hit two oil tankers three weeks ago, leading to the release of large quantities of fuel oil.

On December 23, the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations estimated that the spill had contaminated up to 200,000 tons of material with heavy fuel oil.

Russian President Vladimir Putin described the incident as an “environmental disaster.”