KYIV, Dec 17 – Preliminary damage as a result of the sinking of two tankers in the Kerch Strait may reach $14 billion, Minister of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine Svitlana Hrynchuk said.

"If we use our methods for calculating losses, if the volume of these products is more than 4,000 tonnes, then the losses for the Black Sea area will amount to $14 billion," she said on the air of the telethon.