Black Sea town faces environmental catastrophe as Ukrainian strikes rock Russia

She said she evacuated her young daughter so she doesn’t breathe in the pollution. The town’s schools have been shuttered since Tuesday, local authorities said.

“People used to say that this is all happening somewhere farther away and we are fine,” she said, but “I think many have begun to realize everything that is happening.”

With the U.S.-Iran standoff over the Strait of Hormuz sending energy prices soaring, Ukraine has increased its attacks on Russian energy infrastructure to try and stop the Kremlin from cashing in. In recent days, Kyiv said it hit an oil facility near the city of Perm, more than 900 miles from Ukraine — part of what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy touted as a “new stage in the use of Ukrainian weapons to limit the potential of Russia’s war.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin said earlier this week that Kyiv’s attacks “against civilian infrastructure are becoming more frequent,” adding that the strikes on Tuapse “could potentially cause serious environmental consequences.”

The disaster unfolding on the Black Sea coast comes at a difficult moment for the Kremlin, which is already facing a wave of popular discontent over a perceived disconnect from ordinary Russians and their mounting problems: an ailing economy, rising prices and growing restrictions on what they can do online.

In Tuapse, a sense that the economy and ecology of their town was now at risk meant “many people are in a depressed state,” said Svetlana. “There is nothing good to expect.”

The government response has been “insufficient,” Svetlana added, and she thinks that local volunteers have been shouldering the weight of the initial cleanup effort.

The town is usually home to some 60,000 people, as well as the scores of tourists who visit in the summer to enjoy mild weather, sunshine and beaches. Instead, the black smoke from the fires can be seen in satellite images, and some locals have shared images of black droplets covering their car windshields and windows.

Russian state media largely ignored the situation in Tuapse until the third attack, on Tuesday. But volunteer groups have been sharing images of cleanup operations on the local beaches, where they have been trying to scoop up oil from the gravel and sand, and wash street animals and sea birds off black sticky tar.

Tuapse now finds itself the latest Russian hot spot in the four-year conflict that is increasingly weighing on Putin’s domestic popularity.

The Russian leader dispatched his emergencies minister, who said Tuesday the situation was “under control” and oil was no longer escaping from the refinery. Putin said later Tuesday that “there don’t seem to be any serious threats” to the town. He accused Ukraine of resorting to such “terror” strikes because it couldn’t stop the advance of Russian troops on the battlefield.

Regional Gov. Veniamin Kondratyev shared a video of himself walking around the town with smoke billowing in the background and oil that escaped from a damaged reservoir streaming down a street.

Heavy machinery and more than 600 cleanup crews were deployed to work on the town’s shoreline, Kondratyev said, as he vowed to residents to “return” life to what it was before.

Russia’s consumer safety watchdog warned locals to avoid being outdoors, keep their windows closed and rinse their eyes, nose and throat. But on Wednesday, the agency’s chief said there was “no health risk” for local residents.

NBC News spoke with three volunteers who helped with the cleanup efforts and aid delivery to first responders and animal shelters.

Mira, born and raised in Tuapse, said she felt compelled to help her city and had been distributing meals, water and equipment for firefighters battling the flames and aid for animal shelters. “I was in a stupor because this is my native town,” said Mira, who also did not want her last name shared due to security concerns, when asked about what it felt like to see Tuapse this way.

While the smoke has been decreasing, she said beaches and local shores were covered in oil. A tourism season this summer is “absolutely impossible,” she said, adding that official claims there were no health risks to residents were infuriating.

The building where her mother and brother live is right next to the refinery, Mira said. She is permanently evacuating them from the city to the nearby regional capital Krasnodar. “I feel horror, fear, panic,” she said.

Andrey, from the nearby Stavropol region, volunteered to clear oil from local beaches last weekend before authorities said they were taking over and asked him to leave. “Unfortunately, it’s just using shovels to collect the layer that’s floating in the water or oil from the shore along with a layer of gravel,” said Andrey, who did not want his last name revealed for the same reason as others.