LONDON: British military spies on Friday (Jun 23) said Russia appears to be training combat dolphins in the annexed Crimean peninsula to counter Ukrainian forces.
In its latest update on the conflict, UK Defence Intelligence said the Russian Navy had invested heavily in security at the Black Sea Fleet’s main base at Sevastopol since last year.
“This includes at least four layers of nets and booms across the harbour entrance. In recent weeks, these defences have highly likely also been augmented by an increased number of trained marine mammals,” it added.
“Imagery shows a near doubling of floating mammal pens in the harbour which highly likely contain bottle-nosed dolphins.”
The animals were “likely intended to counter enemy divers”, it added.
The Russian Navy has used Beluga whales and seals for a range of missions in Arctic waters, the update said.
A harness-wearing whale that turned up in Norway in 2019, sparking speculation it was being used for surveillance, reappeared off Sweden’s coast last month.
Norwegians nicknamed it “Hvaldimir” – a pun on the word “whale” in Norwegian (hval) and a nod to its alleged association with Russia.
Hvaldimir’s harness had a mount suitable for housing an action camera, and the words “Equipment St. Petersburg” printed on the plastic clasps.
Source: CNA
