Vast stretches of Russian coast have been tarred by heavy fuel oil from two freighters that foundered in a storm.

Crimea, under Putin’s control, would likely turn the Black Sea into a Russian lake, severing the Caucasus and Central Asia from Europe and directly threatening NATO members Romania and Bulgaria ...

The Kerch Strait runs between the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov and separates Crimea's Kerch Peninsula from Russia's Krasnodar region. Rescue workers have now cleared more than 86,000 metric tons ...