by wildestanimal via Getty ImagesRussia uses dolphins to protect naval base at Sevastopol in Crimea (illustration photo)
WAR IN UKRAINE – Moscow can also count on two dolphins in its war in Ukraine. Satellite images from the American company Maxar Technologies show that Russia is using these mammals to protect the entrance to its naval base in Sevastopol, as the American Naval Institute (USNI) said Wednesday 27. A practice that is actually not new.
These two military-trained dolphins were deployed in February in the waters of the strategic port of the city of Sevastopol, south of Crimea annexed by Moscow in 2014, the USNI reports. The two animals are tasked with protecting the warships based at the main Russian naval base in the Black Sea thanks to their highly efficient sonar, their speed and their ability to swim in very deep water. “Dolphins could prevent Ukrainian special forces from entering the water to sabotage warships,” says the American organization.
When the Russian fleet in the port of Sevastopol is “out of range of Ukrainian missiles,” it remains “vulnerable to submarine sabotage,” the American institute explains. According to Ukraine, the Moskva, flagship of the Russian military fleet, sank in mid-April after a missile attack in the Black Sea. Russia brings a munitions explosion on board.
Norway suspects Beluga is spying for Russia in 2019
The use of dolphins as weapons is not a first, as the USNI claims, as Russians and Americans train these whales to counter possible underwater attacks. It is therefore not a surprise to find them in the Black Sea in the midst of the war in Ukraine, especially since “during the Cold War the Russian Navy developed several programs around sea mammals, including the dolphin, at sea”. the experts out.
According to the USNI, these programs were located in Kazachya Bukhta near Sevastopol. They were reactivated and expanded after the Russians annexed Crimea. Another Russian program has been identified in the Arctic, with belugas and seals, British site Metro reports. In 2019, Norway accused Russia of spying on it with a beluga sighted by fishermen.
For its part, the US Navy has been training 70 bottlenose dolphins and around 30 sea lions since the Vietnam War to detect and “patrol” suspicious objects, The Guardian reported in 2019. Eventually, it announced plans to replace these marine animals with robots – including underwater drones – , especially given the criticism denouncing the captivity of these creatures. “But right now the technology isn’t getting close to these animals,” she added.
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