Russia has deployed specially trained combat dolphins closer to the fighting in southern Ukraine, expanding their use in the Black Sea.
Dolphin pens have been sighted near the Russian naval base in Novoozerne, in western Crimea, according to Naval News which cited new images.
This isn’t the first time Vladimir Putin’s forces have employed the use of dolphins in the war. Reports suggest that Moscow has trained the animals to guard its Black Sea base at Sevastopol to fend off Ukrainian special operators.
In the early weeks of the war, the US Naval Institute said that Russia had placed at least two dolphin pens near the opening of Sevastopol harbour in February 2022.
The US Navy has also been using trained dolphins since the 1950s to detect mines and other threats in coastal areas. Russia’s program to train the animals for military purposes is believed to be the most extensive.
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Ukrainian forces have already launched amphibious assaults in Crimea which Kyiv has vowed to take back.
The peninsula was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014 when separatists – directly supported by Russia – launched a war in eastern Ukraine.
Ukraine’s forces are attempting to isolate Crimea by driving its forces to the sea and cutting the land bridge to the peninsula made of Russian-occupied territory.
In addition, the Kerch Bridge connecting Crimea to Russia has been regularly targeted by attacks.