Russian officials say rescue workers have successfully removed almost 1,500 tons of oil stranded onboard a tanker that ran aground in December, sparking a devastating oil spill that has damaged miles of coastline along the Black Sea.

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - The United States has clarified to India that tankers loaded with Russian oil have to discharge by Feb. 27 under the latest sanctions targeting Moscow's oil revenue, India's oil secretary Pankaj Jain told reporters at an event.

On Jan. 10 the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctioned 161 tankers and traders involved in about 2,000 shipments since the invasion began. It also acted against Moscow-based ship insurers and two companies — Surgutneftgas and Gazpromneft — which in the first 10 months of last year accounted for almost 30% of Russia’s oil exports.

A large-scale fuel oil pollution, likely caused by the sinking of Russian tankers in the Kerch Strait, has been discovered on the coast of Odesa Oblast. Source: Ivan Rusiev, a scientist and the head of the research department of the Tuzly Lagoons National Nature Park,